The First Time
by MizukiYukiko
Summary: The first time he saw her, he was nine and she was five. The first time he talked to her, she was twelve and he was seventeen. The first time he took real note of her, she was fifteen and he was nineteen. Little did he know that such inconsequential meetings would change everything he thought, felt, and did. ItachiXSakura. AU Non-Massacre. 50 shinobi theme #40. Heartstrings.
1. Slow Down

Story: The First Time

Author: MizukiYukiko

Rated: T

Pairing: ItachiXSakura

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. I do not own Naruto or "The Gambler" by fun. - the song that was the inspiration for this story.

Summary: The first time he saw her, he was nine and she was five. The first time he talked to her, she was twelve and he was seventeen. The first time he took real note of her, she was fifteen and he was nineteen. Little did he know that such inconsequential meetings would change everything he thought, felt, and did. 50 shinobi themed challenge #40. Heartstrings. ItachiXSakura AU NonMass

Notes: 50_shinobi theme: #40. Heartstrings; Non-massacre AU; and reviews are loved, appreciated, and read with satisfaction. Thank you for reading!

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**The First Time**

**Prologue: Slow Down**

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_"Slow down, we've got time left to be lazy  
All the kids have bloomed from babies into flowers in our eyes."_

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_The first time he saw Haruno Sakura, he was nine and she was five._

"Itachi, go get your brother from school, please," Mikoto demanded in her most loving tone that sounded more like a gentle question to Itachi. As always, being the dutiful son that he was, he walked the streets of his village to retrieve his five year old brother. The new spring weather was clearly welcome to the people of Konoha as the chilly air whipped through the streets, but was combatted by the warmth of the glowing sun. Wearing his usual black attire, the sun seeped into his skin allowing him to have a moment to revel in the warmth. It was a short walk from the Uchiha compound to the academy, and soon Itachi arrived before the students had been let out.

Standing near the tree with the familiar swing attached, Itachi waited for the group of first-year academy students to run out the doors. It was Friday, and Itachi had just returned from a preparation mission with his genin team. Soon, they would be taking the chunin exams together.

The promise of Fridays always managed to create a tone and atmosphere of wondering excitement to the young children as they now had two whole days of freedom in the glorious spring weather. As the bell sounded, waves of students began to run out as fast as they could, giving off the air of jubilance that Itachi had been expected. How he longed for the days when he was in the academy and he still _had_ weekends. Frowning to himself at the thoughts of his long-lost childhood, Itachi returned his attentions to finding his younger brother. This was the first time Itachi Uchiha encountered Sakura Haruno.

His brother emerged first, spikey hair disheveled and eyes burning with excitement as he caught sight of his older brother. Then a blonde female was running after him, as fast as she could. "Come back here Sasuke-kun!" she called. "You give it back!"

Sasuke sprinted in a beeline towards Itachi, who was now looking at him stoically. Some sort of mischief was ever so prevalent on the face of his younger brother, and Itachi's eyes narrowed suspiciously. What could he be up to? That was when he caught the first glimpses of pink that was also running after his foolish little brother. As he approached, Sasuke shouted gleefully, "Onii-san! Help!"

As if on cue, Itachi held his arm out to his brother who grasped it firmly and flung himself on his brother's back where he usually found himself after a hard day at school. The two girls were close behind, though, and the blond one chided as she continued her pursuit, "Sasuke-kun, give Sakura-chan back her ribbon. That's not nice."

The young pinkette had an evil glint in her eye as she still ran, and pushing a bit of chakra into her feet, she crouched like a cat and flung herself at Sasuke, knocking him clear off his brother's back. Itachi raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised that the girl could even push chakra into her feet. She was only five, after all. They were on the grass now, rolling around, laughing hysterics, and Itachi could not help but allow a smile to tug at the ends of his stoic face. The girl was quick to recover as she tackled Sasuke again, "Where's my bow, you jerk?"

"I don't have it!" Sasuke attested as he tried to pull himself away, "I gave it to Kiba!"

"Liar!" the blonde girl joined in as she also tackled Sasuke. The two little girls were now double-teaming his brother as they grabbed his pockets, looking for the lost bow, coupling with tickling his stomach – Sasuke's weak spot, Itachi knew. Finally, growing a little bored of the antics, Itachi leaned down and grabbed his younger brother's wrist, pulling him to a standing position as the two girls fell off of him. A little flushed, the girls stood next to Sasuke, staring at Itachi as well.

Poking his brother's forehead with his index finger, Itachi asked quietly, "Sasuke, do you have this girl's bow? Do not lie."

Sasuke shoved his hands into his pocket in the corner of his shirt and pulled out a red ribbon, holding it out to Sakura, not looking at her. Sakura smiled big, grabbed the ribbon, and tied it into her hair to effectively pull her pink locks from her face.

"Thank you Sasuke's older brother!" the blonde girl said as she pulled her pink-haired friend away from them.

"Thanks a lot, onii-san," Sasuke spat a little. Itachi's only response was to poke his brother in the forehead again as they also turned to walk home.

X

_The first time Haruno Sakura spoke to him, he was twelve and she was seven._

Two years later, Itachi was twelve, an ANBU member, and well on his way to being ANBU captain, but that didn't mean he got out of his familial chores. At least, that's what his mother said when she'd forced an umbrella and a wad of cash into his hands, asking him to go to the store for her. "And take Sasuke with you!" she called out as he slid the door shut to find his raven-haired brother standing in front of him.

Pushing his finger into his brother's head, Itachi muttered, "Let's go."

It was late winter, and the cold rain that was pouring down on Konoha managed to turn all of the dirt paths into mud, turning Itachi's normally well-kept sandals into thick, muddy pieces of worthless trash. Sasuke's shoes were faring no better, he noticed of his younger brother who didn't seem to mind as much. Itachi wished for the return of spring, which meant much more favorable weather.

As they approached the market, Sasuke's eyes brightened a bit, and Itachi saw what made his brother interested. A flash of pink was darting around the market quickly, as if running from something. Itachi squinted; trying to see what his younger brother's friend was running from, only to find out it was her parents.

"Sakura Haruno, you get back here right now!" her mother yelled at the playful pinkette. Said girl was making her way, in a zigzag shape, right for Itachi and Sasuke. Running around an unknown civilian, she collided directly into Itachi and fell back. Looking up at him wordlessly, her eyes filled with a bit of fear and anxiety.

Her usually pink rain-coat was now covered in mud, and her pink hair had fallen loose from her red ribbon – the same ribbon that Itachi had rescued from Sasuke two years previous. She quirked her head at the brothers, but did not speak to them. Their parents were quickly catching up to their daughter as anger filled their cries for her.

"Sakura!" Itachi heard a gruff voice cry, probably from her father, as her parents arrived. "Apologize to this young man for being rude."

Sakura was just gaining her bearings as she pulled herself up. She then looked at Sasuke, who was making tentative eye contact with her. Sakura bowed deeply to them, "I'm sorry for running into you, Uchiha-san. It was nice to see you Sasuke-kun."

"Hn," Sasuke replied and Itachi merely inclined his head.

"I apologize for my daughter. She gets a little…rambunctious when it rains," her mother said, bowed a bit, and turned to leave. The girl's father picked up Sakura and walked away with her slowly, back towards the supermarket; however, the girl was looking back at the brothers, interest sparked in her emerald orbs.

Sasuke just stared after her, not saying a thing. Itachi prodded him a bit, tempting him to walk. Finally, as Sasuke began to make his legs work, he said, "She has a crush on me."

"Oh?" Itachi asked, feigning interest, "Do you have a crush back, Sasuke-_kun_."

Sasuke wrinkled his nose at the idea. "No!" he protested. "I don't like girls."

Itachi chuckled to himself at the naïve boy, for if he had said that when he was a few years older, somebody would certainly ask him 'So you play for the other team' or something of that nature. Sasuke merely looked up at him, confused. Itachi stated, "Don't look down on her too much Sasuke. She could save your life one day."

X

_The first time he talked to Haruno Sakura, she was twelve and he was seventeen._

Perhaps Itachi was so much of a genius that he could see this coming five years in advance, or perhaps it was dumb luck that he was standing in the Forest of Death, staring at his little brother's lifeless body on the ground. Sakura Haruno had cut her previously long pink locks and she was hovering over his little brother, a protective look glinting in her bright green eyes.

Clearly, she had just saved his foolish little brother's life, as well as the life of his equally foolish blond teammate who was incapacitated a few yards away. However, Itachi's attention was quickly reverted to Orochimaru who was standing about twenty feet from their current position, blood lust filling his dead eyes.

"Stay out of my way, Itachi," Orochimaru hissed. "You've made your displeasure at the thought of being my vessel known, so I'm here for your brother."

"You will not touch him," Itachi muttered, a deathly glare in his red Sharingan. No, no one would hurt Sasuke while he was still breathing. His gaze fell to the pink-haired genin in front of him. "Go."

That simple command was enough to snap Sakura's eyes to his as she stared at him in awe. Then, with a terse nod, she stood up and coiled a chakra-rope around his brother's hand. Itachi raised an eyebrow to her. Chakra ropes were surely not a genin-level jutsu – it was a much more advanced technique. Sakura then ran to the other boy, did the same, and hoisted their bodies above her shoulders. She limped away quickly for someone who was injured and carrying two lifeless bodies.

When Itachi had appeared before her, Sakura had felt that glimmer of hope rise within her. If Orochimaru was so strong that he could knock out Naruto and Sasuke in one hit, then she knew she was a goner. Attacking anyway, Orochimaru had hit her very hard, but she managed to hold onto the vestiges of consciousness. Then, there he was, clad in his black attire, standing between her and Orochimaru. Her heart had jumped at the sight of the elder Uchiha, for she had been so sure that they were all going to die.

Two days later, they had their first conversation. At least, by Uchiha standards, it was a conversation. Sakura was sitting in the hospital room, settled on a couch between Sasuke's bed and Naruto's, face in a book about chakra control. Itachi's bed was on the other side of Sasuke's; much to his chagrin, he'd been hospitalized after his fight with Orochimaru. It had not all been a waste, though, as he was able to cut off the arms of his opponent which would hopefully foil or at least detriment the sannin's plans for Sasuke.

Sasuke and Naruto had undergone some sort of mental trauma that had not allowed them to awaken yet, much to the horror of Itachi's mother. He felt guilty for not reaching his younger brother earlier. Although there was no way he could have known. The second he felt Orochimaru's presence, he had rushed into the Forest of Death in order to reach his younger brother in time. He was sure that if it hadn't been for the young girl on the other side of the room, Orochimaru would have escaped with Sasuke's body, killing both Sakura and Naruto as well.

Opening his eyes after pondering the fight, he heard light, even breathing coming from the other side of the room. Glancing to his left, he noted that the girl had fallen fast asleep. "Haruno-san," he whispered. He only meant to wake her because she was dangerously close to toppling off of the couch. "Haruno-san," he said louder.

Her eyes opened up in a shot of pure panic. As her chest heaved, she looked around the room, as if to make sure Orochimaru had not come back for Sasuke. Then she turned her head to Itachi, who was the only person in the room who could have possibly been talking to her.

"I didn't mean to startle you," he stated.

"Oh, it's okay," she replied, brushing her hands through her now very short hair. A look of surprise crossed through her eyes, and then realization set in that her previously impressive pink locks were now gone.

"You were about to fall."

"Oh," she murmured, looking up at him a little shyly. "Thank you Uchiha-san. For waking me up…and for saving us."

"Hm," he tuned, inclining his head. The genin stood, stretched her arms, and walked slowly to the door. She turned to him, opened her mouth, but then closed it again as she was trying to find her words. Itachi just regarded her wordlessly, observing how the girl was nervous around him. Perhaps Sasuke had told her stories about him, or perhaps it was just because he was an ANBU captain and five years her senior.

Finally, Sakura sighed a little, turned, and left the room.

X

_The first time he was healed by Haruno Sakura, she was fourteen and he was nineteen._

"Come here often, Uchiha-san?" the girl quipped as she closed the door behind her. Itachi merely suppressed the urge to glare at her as this situation was very far from funny. The long kunai cut that ran from the top of his arm to just below his elbow was hardly a joking matter, especially how he received it.

It was far from funny that Shisui had decided that it would be a wise idea to stick a kunai in the ground, and then throw Itachi at it as hard as he could after kicking him in the head. Perhaps the most infuriating part was that Itachi and Shisui hadn't even been training. No, Itachi had been walking on a path to the river, reading his book and minding his own business, when Shisui appeared out of nowhere, kicked him in the head, and jammed him into a kunai. If it hadn't slit clean through muscular tissue, he wouldn't have even bothered coming to the hospital. However, he had a mission beginning in two days' time and he could not afford to be injured. No. This. Was. Not. Funny.

"Haruno-san," he managed to grit out. Sakura walked over to him with light, but tentative footsteps.

"I'm here to check your vitals and clean the wound. Then the medic will be in to heal it," she explained and leaned into him, palms glowing green. "I have to practice doing it with my chakra," she continued, words faltering a bit under his intense gaze. "It's for my training."

"Aa," he replied. "Sasuke told me you were an apprentice to the Godaime Hokage. Impressive."

Sakura blushed a bit but nodded, hands lightly touching his chest. She murmured quietly, obviously concentrating hard on what she was doing, "I have been for about a year now. I work in the hospital as an assistant nurse in order to hone my skills."

"It's good practice," he replied, suddenly very aware at the girl's proximity to him. Her face was only inches from his as she stared at his covered chest, pulsing green chakra into it, brows furrowed in deep lines of concentration. Itachi decided it was really quite an endearing face for her to make. Itachi took the time to study the girl further – her pink hair was now growing out from when she had cut it two years ago, but she clearly kept it short on purpose now. Her skin was a light cream color, not too unusual for kunoichi from Konoha. And her eyes were an expressive emerald green that seemed to always betray her emotions.

The girl had become a fixture at the Uchiha compound over the past two years, along with her boisterous blond teammate. Although Sasuke had originally been disappointed with his assigned team, after Orochimaru's attack on Konoha, he gained an appreciation for them. Appreciation turned to fondness which eventually morphed into a close, indestructible friendship. Their bond was obviously something more than what most teams forged as they were a united, un-fearing front on the missions they accomplished, or so he had been told. Truthfully, he paid little attention to the workings of his brother's team, but he heard they were one of the most accomplished chunin teams now, at the meager age of fourteen. This was further fortified with the very protective nature Sasuke now took for Sakura, and apparently Naruto and Kakashi were not much different.

Itachi mused inwardly as a story had come to mind – a young Sand ninja who was visiting Konoha with the Kazekage seemed to take an interest in Sakura a few months back. Sasuke had seemed very edgy at that time, Itachi recalled, and had spent many nights out of the compound, apparently to spy on his teammate. Sakura had found out and had punched Sasuke and Naruto so hard that they both featured remarkably symmetrical black eyes the next day. If they hadn't displayed the bruises, Itachi would have never even found out about the incident.

The girl pulled back and began to prod the wound with a disinfectant swab, making sure that her chakra had cleaned the wound completely. Itachi merely regarded her silently as she gracefully floated to the other end of the room, disposing of the swab. He contemplated that these occurrences of men seeking her would not relent. Although the girl was still maturing and very young, he was sure that the combination of her looks and strength would one day leave men fawning over her.

However, Sakura was fairly capable of taking care of herself as she was now furthering her training as a shinobi, as were Sasuke and Naruto.

Sakura had become an apprentice to Tsunade, and Jiraiya – the toad sannin – had taken Naruto under his wing. Sasuke began spending more and more time with Hatake Kakashi and the jounin Anko in order to further his skills. Anko was able to give him a method of subduing and controlling the cursed seal Orochimaru had implanted on Sasuke two years previous.

"Uchiha-san." Itachi was snapped out of his internal reverie by the sound of an older, tall, brunette medic that had entered the room. "My name is Sumi."

"Sumi-san," Itachi replied coolly, now realizing that Sakura had pulled back from him completely.

"How did things go, Sakura?" Sumi asked sweetly.

"Well. I cleaned out the wound with my chakra and all of his vitals are normal," Sakura replied, a proud gleam in her eye.

"Very good," Sumi replied, striding over to Itachi. She took his tender arm in her light hands and looked at it carefully. "Uchiha-san, if it is alright with you, I'd like Sakura to heal your wound."

Sakura gasped. "I couldn't," she replied tersely. "I've never healed a wound so deep on a human before."

"Sakura, you're more than ready. Would that be okay, Uchiha-san?" Sumi asked kindly. "It may not be as clean if I she does it, and it may take a little longer, but I'm confident in Sakura's abilities."

Itachi mused for a moment, and quickly nodded his head in assent. He rarely healed any wounds anyway, and his pale skin was marred with them so it's not as if it mattered. Sakura was blushing furiously as she nervously closed the distance between herself and Itachi. "Do not be nervous," Itachi instructed, now trying to calm the girl. The more nervous she was, the worse she would do.

Sakura sighed, pushed chakra into her hands, and the deep furrow of concentration took hold on her large forehead. Lightly, she placed her hands at the top of the cut, twisting her chakra into his wound. She found herself able to feel where the gash needed healing, and was able to stitch the pieces back together, weaving her chakra in and out of the muscles. Her hands moved slowly down his arm as she first fixed all of the muscle damage. Then, she started from the bottom and worked her back up, mending the skin tissue damage.

Feeling herself grow wary from the excess chakra use, she was relieved to find she had finished and she pulled back. Gazing at the arm, Itachi nodded, "Very good," he stated quietly. Although there was still a small, pink scar there that may never completely heal, it was really quite alright with him. Such minor blemishes on his skin were fairly common.

Sumi had now taken the arm and was pushing her own chakra into it, but it was not healing chakra, it was diagnostic charka. "Sakura you did perfectly," Sumi replied with a bright smile after a few moments of studying the arm.

Sakura visibly exhaled and then her entire face lit up. Suddenly, Itachi felt himself smile a bit as well, as he was pleased that he had put such a face on the girl. It was a similar feeling of when he was younger and would agree to train with Sasuke. His younger brother would look at him with so much contentment and gratitude that it almost made Itachi miss training with his brother now.

Bowing slightly, she said humbly, "Thank you for the opportunity Uchiha-san."

The door opened suddenly, and a very pleased looking Shisui Uchiha strolled into the room. "Feeling better Itachi?" he asked. Itachi merely glared back at him with so much annoyance that it would make any normal shinobi flinch. Sakura looked from Itachi to Shisui several times, and the realization of what happened dawned on her. Shisui then turned to Sakura, and grabbed her waist tightly in a hug. "Thank you for taking care of my little cousin."

Sakura's eyes widened at the contact and her entire body went completely slack. "Shisui-san. It's nice to see you again," she croaked out, clearly uncomfortable, patting his shoulders lightly.

"How many times do I have to tell you to just call me Shisui," he chided lightly, poking the girl in the nose as he released her from their sudden embrace. Itachi was worried for a moment that their girl would fall over.

"Shisui," he intoned with a voice laced with warning.

"Anyway, I'm going to go now," Sakura announced abruptly and scooted a few feet away from Shisui. "It was nice to see you both. Feel better Uchiha-san." With a light bow, she was gone.

X

_The first time he took real note of Haruno Sakura, she was fifteen and he was nineteen._

His back was stiff so he put his book down on his bedside table and reached his arms above his head in order to stretch the stiffened muscles. It was difficult for him to enjoy his vacations for he was so used to working constantly. The new Hokage – Tsunade (well she'd been in power for three years so she wasn't _so_ new, but Itachi was still getting used to the rather rambunctious sannin) – had insisted that he take a vacation.

"You've massed over a year of vacation time in the past ten years Uchiha, take two weeks of it," she had intoned two days previous. Two weeks? What was he supposed to do for two weeks? Her apprentice had then entered the room as a welcome distraction, a handful of files in her arms and her black gloves in her mouth. All she could do to greet the Uchiha was nod her head, pink locks falling over her face as she dumped the paperwork down on her teacher's desk and pulled the black gloves onto her hands, muttering something about smelling sake on the Hokage's breath. Tsunade looked back up at him, "It's an order Uchiha. Go."

Stalking off, rather perturbed, he didn't notice the young, pink-haired kunoichi staring at his back as he left the room. Now, two days later, he had managed to polish and organize all of his weapons, attend to clan business that was two months overdue, give his room a full scrub (although he was barely home so the room never got messy anyway), and read two books, now working on his third.

As he reclined back in his bed, picking his book back up, he noticed his furniture was shaking ever so lightly. An earth-shattering _crack_ then emanated from outside his window, and he found his entire room shaking again. The Uchiha had just managed to grab his glass of orange juice from his night stand before it crashed onto the ground.

Already in a foul mood, Itachi quickly made his way to his window that overlooked one of the many Uchiha training grounds to find his foolish little brother's team in the middle of a very heated sparring session, and the earthquake had clearly been caused by a certain pink-haired kunoichi who was now wielding a large tree in her fairly tiny arms.

Said tree was now being swung at unbelievable speeds towards three clones that the Uzumaki boy had created. As they made contact, the girl was able to quickly change directions of the tree, a remarkable feet as the momentum of the tree had been so forcefully flying in one direction, and it was headed right for Sasuke. The younger Uchiha had been attempting to attack Sakura in her moment of concentration; however, the kunoichi had sensed him and had pulled the tree into his direction. If not for Sasuke's Sharingan, he would not have seen the tree coming, but he was able to barely evade what would have been a devastating hit.

The girl swung the tree into the distance, and it fell in a heap at the edge of the forest, effectively creating another minor earth tremor in Itachi's room. However, his annoyance was now replaced with fascination as he watched Team Seven's sparring session. The three teammates were standing a safe distance away from each other, glaring at each other fervently. They were talking to each other, but Itachi could not hear. Pushing chakra into his ears, he used the technique to listen in on the conversation.

"You want to end this?" Sasuke asked smoothly, but his exhaustion was evident in his voice.

"Hell yeah!" Naruto cheered, now bracing himself as wind began to circle in his fist. They couldn't be so foolish, could they? Yes, they could, as Sasuke was now holding his arm as lightning began to flicker in his palm. Itachi's eyes now traveled to the kunoichi who was pulling an impressive amount of chakra into her palm. The three were surely trying to break down the Uchiha compound. With a battle cry, Naruto began the surge, Sasuke quick to follow, and Sakura pushing off the ground last, but with equally notable speed.

The session was unexpectedly halted by a poof of smoke appearing in the center of the field, and their sensei appeared in the midst of what would be a clash of rasengan, chidori, and chakra-filled punch by the three teammates, possibly saving the entire Uchiha complex.

"Yo!"

"Argh Kakashi!" Naruto choked as he halted mid-run, the wind jutsu quickly dissipating from his palm. Sakura was able to skid to a stop, but Sasuke was charging with such force and momentum that he couldn't stop. Itachi observed as Sakura's eyes widened in recognition and forced her chakra-infused hand out to grab Sasuke's. Compelling the hand in question to the ground, Sakura guided Sasuke's body quickly so the chidori left a large hole in the earth, forcing both teens to topple on one and other, and mere inches from where Kakashi stood. Shooting up from where she'd fallen, Sakura screamed a curse at her sensei and tried to punch him with a chakra infused fist, which the copy-nin managed to dodge with little effort.

Itachi glided back onto his bed. What was this inkling of curiosity boiling within his chest and stomach? Anticipation? Excitement? Surely, he could not wait to see how this pink-haired kunoichi would progress.

X

_To his drunken dismay, the first time he found himself attracted to Haruno Sakura, she was sixteen and he was barely twenty-one._

This was not something he was used to – the feeling of utter helplessness, and Uchiha Itachi didn't like it.

Itachi knew a bad idea when he heard one – and his teammates' idea of going out for a drink on the evening of his twenty-first birthday and surely sounded like a bad idea. So how had he end up here?—lying on a bench outside of a bar, stomach lurching with each breath, head woozy and incoherent. It was not a pleasant feeling for the usually subdued, controlled Uchiha. He supposed it started with Genma Shiranui insisting on buying him a drink for his birthday. Then, Muta Aburame had intoned that he, too, would like a drink. Of course, Shisui would have to come. Then Hana Inuzuka had chimed in, and they had ended up in the favorite bar to Konoha's shinobi, drinking shot after shot in Itachi's honor.

It was not as if Itachi was not used to drinking as he usually joined his teammates for a drink or two after missions, trying to be more social as his mother chastised him for not being in the past. This was a whole different matter, though. He was drunk.

The real drinking began after a crude comment Genma had made about Sasuke and his brother's team. The team was clearly jounin-level, but the group had been kept as chunin for at least an extra year so they could all continue their individual paths for a while. Itachi had defended this at first.

Then, to his discontentment, Shisui had made a very inappropriate comment about how well a certain pink-haired kunoichi had filled out. Itachi's mind had instantly flashed to an image of Sakura – shoulder length pink hair, more pronounced curves, long legs, animated emerald eyes. The horror of his mind's chosen path to wander had induced more shots from the Uchiha.

After several minutes of Shisui and Genma arguing over some woman, Itachi had stumbled out of the bar and found himself lying weakly on a bench. Eyes closed and hands clenched over his stomach, he only hoped that the mind-numbing dizziness would end soon so that he could make his way home to sleep this painful night away.

To his dismay, he heard a loud, energetic voice announce, "Hey, teme, isn't that your brother?" Oh what perfect timing – Team Seven was returning back home from a mission. Of course they would take the main road back into town towards their houses to find Itachi lying there miserably.

"Huh," he heard Sasuke reply tonelessly, but then he said, "Yeah."

"Is he okay?" Sakura's concerned voice rang out, and he quickly deduced she was fast approaching. Itachi groaned inwardly as he felt the kunoichi hovering over him. As he peaked his eye open, he saw worried jade eyes set on his. "Uchiha-san?" she asked quietly.

"It's not like you to get smashed, Nii-san," Sasuke intoned as he was now bending over Itachi, face impassive. The entire group looked a little tired and ruffled from their mission, featuring what looked like minor cuts and bruises over their standard ninja attire. They all featured the same black turtle necks and flak jackets. The team had begun wearing the standard outfit when they began their training to become jounin a few months back.

"Hn," Itachi replied warily.

"It's your birthday, so I suppose it's understandable," Sasuke continued, bending closer. "But you've drank a lot, haven't you?"

"Hn."

"Uchiha-san, could you remove your hands from your stomach please?" Sakura asked, concern laced throughout her voice. Itachi felt his stomach lurch at the concern, and the kunoichi was clearly affecting him in his drunken stupor but he removed his hands.

He nearly jerked up when her light hands settled on his stomach and warm, soothing chakra coursed into him. His eyes shot open and his hand grasped her wrist quickly. Sakura gasped at the sudden contact and her chakra halted. "I'm s-s-sorry," she sputtered. "It'll make you feel better."

Itachi didn't remove his hand from her until Sasuke muttered, "Unhand her Itachi. You really will feel better." The tone was a very knowing one, and Itachi made a note to ask his brother how he knew of Sakura's healing a drunken state.

Tentatively, Sakura began to churn her chakra within him again, creating a very warm sensation within him. "I'm speeding up your metabolism so the alcohol breaks down quicker. It won't relieve any hangover you're facing in the morning, but it will keep you from vomiting and it will make you more coherent."

Itachi stayed silent until Sakura was finished, and testing out a motion, he found that his head felt better and his stomach no longer ached of nausea. Sitting up, he first took note of the girl's flushed face and tattered appearance, making her all the more adorable to him. Cursing his thoughts inwardly, he found himself focusing on her lips that were being ground nervously between her teeth.

"Sasuke," Kakashi said suddenly. He had been observing the scene from a distance. "Take your brother home. Naruto and I will see that Sakura arrives home safely."

That was right – Sasuke walked Sakura everywhere at night. He made a point to leave the Uchiha compound when her shifts at the hospital came to a close in order to walk her home when she worked the night shift. Itachi shifted his gaze to Kakashi, who was staring at him thoughtfully. Then, Kakashi averted his glance to Sakura, and then back up to Itachi, as if deciding something.

His eye creased, and his hand went up in a wave goodbye. He ordered Naruto and Sakura to follow him, leaving Sasuke with Itachi. Itachi still felt a little uneasy on his feet and in his head from the alcohol, but the perturbed feeling he was receiving a pointed glare from the copy-nin was certainly not a mistake from the alcohol. Sasuke, seeming to sense something amiss, grabbed Itachi's arm gruffly to stabilize him, and began to lead him home.

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AN: Thank you for reading and please review.


	2. We Should Live

AN: Thank you for reading, favoriting and reviewing. I love 'em!

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**The First Time**

**Chapter 1: We Should Live**

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"_We've got fifty good years left to spend out in the garden  
I don't care to beg your pardon, we should live until we die."_

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_Current Day: Haruno Sakura is 17 and Uchiha Itachi is 22_

It was a very difficult task to decipher if an Uchiha male was worried as they very rarely betrayed emotions. However, one look in the kitchen of the Uchiha main house would tell any passerby that the three men, nervously twitching and taking forced sips of cold tea, were worried. Mikoto Uchiha was ill. What were they to do? Although all three of them were fairly accomplished shinobi, their entire lives revolved around said matriarch – or rather the reverse of that statement – the Uchiha matriarch revolved her life around her sons and husband – but the implications on the effects were the same.

Her illness began one week ago with symptoms that seemed to match the flu: vomiting, fever, weakness, and cold-sweats. The Uchiha doctor promptly prescribed her an antibiotic, but had been clear in saying that rest and good tea would do the most work. So, for the past week, the Uchiha men had been slowly starving to death as filth began to accumulate around them.

Alright, that was a bit of a stretch. Sasuke did the dishes and swept the floors, and Itachi took out the trash and wiped down the wooden furniture, while Fugaku tended to his sick wife in one of the strangest role-reversals one may ever see. Most nights they ate leftovers or fast food for dinner, but other Uchiha wives had done well in cooking a few meals for the helpless men. However, it had been a full week and Mikoto was still not feeling better. If anything, she was getting much, much worse as she had now developed a debilitating cough.

"The Uchiha doctor will not be back for a week?" Itachi asked again. Of course the Uchiha family doctor, some male he could never bother to remember the name of, had gone to a medical seminar soon after seeing Mikoto the first time.

"Hn," Fugaku replied, taking a sip of his cold tea. It was nearly 1 a.m. but there was no way any of the males could sleep. The deep furrow that was usually set in his brow seemed more prominent and his eyes were underlined with black circles, betraying his lack of sleep. His two sons weren't faring much better. Sasuke had been home all week to help tend to his mother, but her deteriorating condition kept him up most nights. Itachi had come home three days previous from an ANBU mission and had slept in less than three hour increments since. Yes, the usually proud and stoic Uchiha men were slowly slipping as the center of their universe lay coughing at the end of the hall.

Sasuke stood suddenly, slamming his palms down at the table, his shoulders tensing. Sighing reluctantly, he looked from his father to Itachi. "I'll be back. Please stop her from killing me." In a swirl of ash, he was gone.

Several seconds later, Itachi sensed his brother's presence appear right outside the kitchen in the front yard. However, there was something with him. A daring smile crossed his lips when he felt the first surge of chakra and heard the first _crack_. Ah, it was Haruno Sakura. Itachi ignored the sense of elation that rose within his chest.

"Sasuke Uchiha, you asshole, I was in the middle of something!" she screeched in a fervent whisper as she tried to be considerate of the time and place they had landed. What could a self-respecting girl like Sakura Haruno be doing in the middle of the night? Itachi mused inwardly. "You can't just pop up in the middle of a survival training session, grab me like some creepy stalker, and transport me back here!" Ah, training, he smirked a bit at the kunoichi's initiative.

"That hurt," was Sasuke's stony reply; Itachi surmised that he was referring to a punch Sakura had landed on him when they first arrived. Another _crack_ and a muffled grunt from Sasuke indicated that she had hit him again. "You'll break my jaw if you do that again."

"Argh!" Sakura grunted as another surge of chakra peaked, but then was soon quelled and an amused chuckle escaped Sasuke. Standing up cautiously, Fugaku made his way to the shoji screen. "Sasuke let go of me!"

"You'll hit me again," he stated.

"Probably," Sakura retorted. However, this was the moment that Fugaku opened the door to reveal Sasuke standing behind a disgruntled Sakura, both of her arms held tightly behind her back with one of Sasuke's hands, while the other was rubbing his quickly-swelling cheek. Sakura's eyes widened when she saw the Uchiha clan head, and she bowed her head despite the fact that Sasuke still had her arms in a steely grip. "Fugaku-sama, I'm so sorry if we woke you."

"Sasuke, unhand the kunoichi," was Fugaku's first order. Itachi was also sure he heard the patriarch mutter something along the lines of 'no wonder he can't find a girlfriend' but he wasn't sure. Sasuke quickly let her go and moved a few feet away, just out of arm-swinging length. Then Fugaku turned his attentions to aforementioned kunoichi and inclined his head in greeting. "Sakura, it is nice to see you, and don't worry you didn't wake us."

"Us?" Sakura asked, brow furrowing in confusion. It was then when she saw Itachi still sitting at the table behind his father. Sakura inclined her head again, "Itachi-san."

"Sakura-san," was Itachi's reply as one wary hand went up to greet her. They seemed to lose their last-name affiliation after she cured his first drunken state. "You were training?" The answer was really very clear as the girl was in a very tight black body suit and a long green ninja dress that was synched at her waist by a lop-sided ninja belt. From what little Itachi could see of her in the dark, she had many marks on her body and the thick body suit was torn and tattered in many places.

A slight squeak left Sakura's lips as she just remembered what she was doing when Sasuke had appeared next to the slumbering kunoichi on a tree, yanked her into a vice grip, and transported them right outside his house. "Yes," she replied. Pointing a light finger to Sasuke, who twitched reflexively at the digit, she continued, "We're taking the jounin exams in a month. I hear it usually involved spending several days in a forest while you're being attacked and you have to survive off the land and basic supplies. Team Gai agreed to do a mock mission with me, as they are all jounin rank or higher, so they were acting as the attackers so I could be better prepared for it. We started this afternoon and we were going to spend three days and three nights in the Nara forests," clenching her teeth slightly, she finished, "and I told my teammates not to interrupt barring a matter of national security."

"That is wise, Sakura," Itachi intoned. "As someone who is completely impartial and has no say in what occurs in the jounin exams, I would say your preparations will serve you well."

Sakura's eyes widened in shock as she was sure she never heard the elder Uchiha create that long of a sentence; additionally it was laced with sarcasm. That's when the sarcasm took root in her head at his implications. Raising a brow, she dared to ask, "Are you a proctor and planner of this year's jounin exams, Itachi-san?"

"I can neither confirm nor deny such a question. The planners and proctors are kept secret," he replied, a smirk ghosting his lips. Sakura merely smiled brightly at his reply.

"A very wise idea indeed, Sakura," Fugaku added. "I'm sorry Sasuke interrupted your training session, but he did not bring you here for no reason. My wife…"

Fugaku's explanation was cut off by a quiet shriek from Sakura as she found herself being lifted off the ground into the arms of a very boisterous Uchiha, "Ah Sakura you've come back to me," he quipped, swinging her around in his bridal style hold. Sakura, gaining understanding, allowed a tinkling laughter to escape her.

"Shisui, please unhand the girl," Fugaku intoned commandingly (for the second time that night, he noted), "Aren't you supposed to be on guard duty at the front gates?"

Shisui stopped and placed Sakura gently back on the ground next to Sasuke, but he snaked a broad arm around her waist, pulling her close, "Ah yes, the joyous guard duty, but a team of three shinobi turned up saying they thought they saw Sasuke-kun here making off with their training partner in a whirl of ash."

As if on cue, team Gai walked up onto the scene quietly. "And I see it's true. Thank you for bringing my dear Sakura-chan to me, Sasuke-_kun_," Shisui continued playfully as he pulled the girl closer to him. There was a time when this attention would, for lack of a better term, freak Sakura out, but she had grown used to Shisui's antics and flirtations. She also quickly learned that it was best to allow them or they would become more sensual.

"Sakura?" Rock Lee asked as he approached the group.

"Hello," Sakura responded quietly, eyes turning to meet the very disheveled looking Team Gai. "I was kidnapped."

"So I saw," Neji replied evenly, but then he turned to Fugaku and Itachi. "Uchiha-sama, Taichou."

Itachi inclined his head at his second in command of the ANBU ranks, trying to ignore the look the Hyuuga was now giving Sakura – it was a little too fond for Itachi's liking. He shook the feelings off – his attraction to the kunoichi was more than inappropriate on so many levels he couldn't even count them all. Not to mention Sasuke may actually succeed in killing him if his brother ever caught wind of such an attraction.

Neji turned to Sakura. "I see you're obviously needed here as the Uchiha clan would not pull you from a training session without reason," he gave a pointed, annoyed look to Sasuke, "We will reschedule our training exercise for next week granted we don't have any mission."

"I will make sure you are available, Neji-san" Itachi intoned quietly, still seated at the table. Although he really didn't want to, but it was the polite course of action seeing as their current session would have never been interrupted if not for Sasuke. "We apologize for the interruption."

The three bowed and quickly made their way to the front gates. Shisui placed a kiss on Sakura's cheek lightly. "See you later sweetheart. I've got to go back to work." And he was gone.

Now it was the three Uchiha men of the main family and Sakura, so she looked up at Fugaku quizzically. He continued his previously interrupted explanation. "My wife has taken ill with the flu. She was given an antibiotic a week ago but her condition is only getting worse."

_Crack. _Sakura landed a hard hit on Sasuke's head. "Why wouldn't you come get me earlier you moron?" she hissed. Itachi saw the glint of pure amusement in his father's eye, barely perceptible to anyone else. Itachi considered that the glint appeared in Fugaku's eyes whenever Sakura was around, as her antics seemed to charm him greatly.

"Bully," Sasuke replied, rubbing his temple.

Sakura turned back to Fugaku and smiled sweetly, "I'm at your service. Please, take me to her."

"Are you sure you would not like to rest first?" he asked, eyebrows rising at the volatile kunoichi. "You were just training."

"No I'm quite fine. I was sleeping and regenerating my chakra when Sasuke…retrieved me," she replied, trying to keep the annoyed tone at the youngest Uchiha away from the conversation.

"Very well, you may follow me," Fugaku motioned inside the house where he led the girl to where his wife was. Opening the door for her, Sakura quickly made her way to Mikoto's side.

"S-s-sakura-chan?" Mikoto whimpered which was enough to make the young girl's heart clench. A blood-churning coughing fit ensued after that while Sakura tried to keep the woman from hacking up a lung.

"Don't worry Mikoto-san I'm here to fix you up. You'll feel better in no time. Just rest now, okay?" she chimed, putting her most soothing medic voice on. Itachi leaned on the doorframe, his father hovering behind him, while Sasuke took a seat near Sakura.

"The doctor gave her an antibiotic. Can you give her another one?" he asked quietly.

Sakura merely glared at him with annoyance. "Antibiotic? I'm a walking antibiotic. Don't insult me, Uchiha."

Sakura turned in a huff back towards Mikoto and placed her hands lightly over her stomach and chest. She was still annoyed with Sasuke interrupting her training session although he had a good reason. He didn't have to just show up and grab her like some sort of criminal. Pouring her green chakra into the Uchiha mother, Sakura became very silent and concentrated. The only thing in the room that could be heard was Mikoto's labored breathing and the light hum of Sakura's chakra.

Itachi noted that the entire time, Sasuke did not take his eyes off of Sakura's face as he watched his teammate in action. Pulling back, Sakura sat down in an Indian-style and faced Sasuke. "She developed pneumonia because the _antibiotic_ wasn't strong enough," she muttered.

"I'm sorry I didn't know!" Sasuke gasped exasperatedly. "Can you help her? _Please_."

Itachi wasn't sure what exchanged between the two as it was obviously something silent and understood, but Sakura's demeanor towards his younger brother softened completely. Itachi felt that twinge of annoyance that automatically appeared within him when he saw Sakura treat other men with kindness. As irrational as it was, it was always there and he could not seem to get rid of it, so he just learned how to hide it the best he could – which was completely.

"Of course I can, Sasuke-kun," Sakura replied sweetly, giving Sasuke a genuine smile. Sasuke's eyes softened as well at their eye contact, and Sakura turned back down to Mikoto. Sakura lifted her palms to her chest, and glowing green chakra seeped into the woman who seemed to sigh in contentment.

After an hour of just observing Sakura work, Itachi finally stood up fully, his body stiff from leaning on the door frame for so long. That seemed to be the same time that Sakura was finishing. Sakura let out a chirp of relief as she stretched her arms up and her face took on a much more comfortable look.

"All done!" she peeped as she turned around to look at Fugaku and Itachi. "She'll be back up and moving soon, but make sure she stays in bed at least two more days and then does minimal work for five days after that. I'll come back in a week to check up on her," she continued. Itachi let out a breath he wasn't aware that he had been holding in. Sakura took a contemplative look and then smiled, "Well I'll be back in less than a week, I'm sure," she pointed a look at Sasuke, "but I'll follow up with her condition in a week."

"Thank you so much Sakura," Fugaku muttered. "I don't want to know what she would have been like in a week once the Uchiha doctor returned."

Sakura scoffed. "A week?" she all but hissed. "She'd be close to death."

The proclamation put stunned looks on the faces of all the Uchiha men, but Itachi was the first to quell the situation. "Well then let's just be thankful that we got Sakura-san here now," he intoned flatly.

Sakura's eyes took on a glazed look as if she was trying to remember something. Then, she snapped back and jumped up. Holding her palms up, she walked slowly to where Itachi and Fugaku were. Green chakra seeped into view. The men must have looked at her bewildered because she chuckled, and stated, "I need to make sure you didn't catch the flu or pneumonia, or I'll be back here for more healing sessions."

Itachi stood taut as she reached him first, laying her light palm on his skin. Then Sakura shifted and pushed her other palm into Fugaku's chest from where he stood right behind him. After a moment, Sakura's eyes lightened completely and deemed them healthy. Then she walked to Sasuke, palms out. "I'm fine," he iterated.

Sakura's brow wrinkled in frustration and her hands slammed on her hips. However, she knew it was futile. She would just shanghai him later and check on him.

"Sakura, how much do we owe for your services?" Fugaku asked. Sakura turned to him with a sweet smile on her face as she had been waiting for this – the Uchihas were all proper and went by the rule book for this sort of thing.

She closed her eyes, holding her hands up, "No need Fugaku-sama. You have fed and housed me enough the past five years to warrant a minor healing session, and I really don't mind. Your sons don't show their emotions all that well, but I know they were chomping at the bit with anxiety from Mikoto-san being ill. It makes me happy to help."

"I insist," Fugaku replied sternly.

Sakura held her hands up again, "I have an idea. Once Mikoto-san is better, convince her to make some dango for me. That's better than any amount of money."

Fugaku looked perturbed, but nodded his head. "You will stay here for the night? It is almost three o'clock."

Sakura looked a little wary as she had not been paying attention to the time. "Sure," she replied with a smile. There was no point in walking all the way home now, anyway.

"Sasuke will show you to the guest room although I'm sure you already know where it is. Thank you Sakura and sleep well," the clan head stated as he let himself out of the room.

Sakura turned to look at Sasuke who grabbed her lightly by the elbow to guide her out of the room. Sakura spared one last look at Itachi and called, "Goodnight Itachi-san. Sleep well!"

Itachi merely inclined his head and fell into the seat next to his mother's bed. Perhaps he would tend to her just a little while longer.

It was just past 8 a.m. when Itachi was out in the training yard, practicing his shuriken aim lightly. He had only gotten a few hours of sleep. It was early, yet the Uchiha compound was alive with the clan members going about their duties. He heard a light giggling coming from the kitchen and Sakura and Sasuke soon emerged.

"Sasuke-kun, please let me make sure you're not sick," Sakura asked lightly, following Sasuke with light footsteps out of the house.

"No," he muttered back.

"Sasuke-_kun_."

Sasuke whipped around to face her and she was taken off guard so she ended up colliding into his chest. Itachi felt like he was watching something private, but the two couldn't see him from where he was so he continued to observe the scene. Sakura had pulled back, but used their proximity to their advantage to place her shining green hands on his chest.

What happened next, Itachi had not been expecting. Sasuke pulled Sakura close by the small of her back and landed a soft, yet passionate kiss on her lips. Sakura squeaked, but did not relent or healing nor pull out of the kiss. Once they broke apart, Sakura giggled, "See you later, Sasuke-kun. I'm going to go pick up a shift at the hospital since I can't train today."

Sasuke just nodded but looked after her as she ran away with a languid, satisfied smirk splayed across his features. Itachi shouldn't feel jealous, but he did a little bit. He held this inexplicable possessiveness over the kunoichi that he could not comprehend nor deter.

Then, he felt confused. Sasuke had never once shown any of that type of interest in Sakura, and Sakura seemed to see Sasuke as a brother more than a boyfriend. In fact, it was only recently (when Fugaku had mentioned the possibility of Sasuke courting Sakura) that Sasuke had adamantly attested that they would never be in a relationship. Itachi allowed his brows to furrow in frustration and as he walked around the house. Had his brother changed his mind? Was he simply in a physical relationship with Sakura? From what Itachi knew of the girl that was highly unlikely as she seemed much more respectable than that.

Sasuke had retreated back to the kitchen, but Itachi noticed someone else standing outside of their house. The girl had previously been in a position where Itachi could not see her and the reasoning for Sasuke's and Sakura's kiss suddenly dawned on him.

The girl was Ayano Uchiha. She was a female the same age as Sasuke, and Itachi knew her as one of the many females who desired to marry into the Uchiha main house. The girl had come onto him enough for him to know that, and judging by the devastatingly jealous look in her blue eyes, she had set her sights on Sasuke after Itachi's repeated rejections. Sasuke had probably asked Sakura to act as his love interest in order to deter the relatively obnoxious and petty Uchiha girl, and Sakura would comply because she was just as protective over her boys as they were of her.

Interesting, Itachi decided, if not Sasuke, then who did Sakura desire?

X

"Come here often, Itachi-san?" the girl quipped as she glided into the room. Itachi couldn't help but remember the first time he had been healed by the girl, and all the subsequent occurrences had begun with that particular line

Once, after a particularly gruesome ANBU mission, he had been knocked unconscious and had been completely gutted by three missing-nins. When he awoke, he was in the Konoha hospital, unaware as to who had rescued him (he later found out that a group of ANBU had been sent out after his team because they were so late coming back). Sakura was standing above him as he opened his eyes, regaining consciousness, and she chimed, 'Come here often, Itachi-san?' and Itachi had to repress the urge to laugh as he was sure his innards would spill out if he did.

"Sakura-san," he greeted. Once again, he found that this situation was far from comical. He had gone to report for his mission when the Hokage had shown up at the front gates in a huff, telling him he was off active duty until he got his yearly physical. His team had to leave without him, and the entire episode was very embarrassing. "I was taken off active duty."

Sakura's hands rested on her hips and her brows furrowed. "You're two months overdue. You've received three written warnings telling you that this would happen if you did not come in. In fact, I remember telling you three times when I was over visiting Sasuke-kun that you had to get your yearly physical; it's a rule _everyone_ has to follow, Itachi-san."

"I am uninjured," he replied coolly. The kunoichi gave him an evil glare. Knowing she could be vindictive when she wanted to be, Itachi saw he would have to smooth things over before she began the actual physical. Shisui had once told Itachi that he had been flirting with Sakura a few months back during his physical, and she did horribly invasive things to certain cavities of his body just to spite him. It was just a yearly checkup and those particular procedures were not warranted, but Sakura did them anyway and Shisui had to comply or he would be taken off active duty. Itachi pointed smoothly over to a box on the counter. "Dango," he whispered, "From my mother."

Sakura's eyes widened at the sight and she practically pranced over to the still-warm box the dango was in. "It's been two months since I've healed her and she's sent me ten boxes of dango," Sakura chimed.

"Now that she knows you like it, she makes extras when she makes it for our dessert and sets it aside for you," Itachi explained. Sakura turned to him, eyes wide with such a lengthy sentence coming from Itachi. In all honesty, she felt lucky if she could get five words out of him at a time. "She says you're too skinny."

Itachi disagreed. Sakura's body was the perfect compromise between feminine curves and kunoichi prowess. He internally chastised himself for allowing such thoughts. Yes, he was a male with normal urges, but that didn't mean he had to turn those urges on unsuspecting, underage female kunoichi.

Sakura blushed a bit. "The life of a kunoichi," she replied a little uncomfortably. Then, she set the dango down and made her way to Itachi. "Let's get this over with, yeah? That way you won't miss the next mission?"

"Hm," he complied. His eyes glanced to the side of her arm where her jounin sash was proudly displayed. Team Seven had taken the exams a month prior, and had passed them with flying colors, as Itachi was sure they would. They were more than ready for the exams, as he had suspected, and could have probably taken them a year ago if not for their private lessons. Itachi turned back to watch her as she began to approach him with her palms held out. He could feel the chakra burning from within them. Sakura swept her chakra lightly over his body and her eyes furrowed in exasperation.

"You've been getting injured and not coming to the hospital," she stated dryly. It was not a question but an observation, and she was right. Itachi rarely went to the hospital for injuries unless he absolutely had to. Therefore, he didn't reply or answer. "You know, you could at least as me to heal you," she bit out, clearly annoyed.

"Could I?" he asked amusedly.

Sakura pulled her hands back and placed them on her hips, glaring at him indignantly. "Of course!" she exclaimed.

"It is noted," he replied and Sakura just huffed. Placing her hands back on his chest, she continued her scan. Slowly, she mended anything she could although most of the wounds were too old to do anything about. Then she swept her hand over his arm and something caught her attention. The faintest pink scar still stood out on his pale skin – the one she had left on him after she healed him for the first time.

She grimaced. "It's never going to go away," she sighed.

"It is quite alright," he replied evenly. He was very aware of her proximity to him with her hand grazing the sides of his arms lightly. The gesture was almost familiar and she was surely standing close enough for this scene to be considered intimate, but Itachi pushed the thoughts off. Inappropriate, he snapped at himself. This little physical attraction to the kunoichi was beginning to get distracting. Sakura smiled and pulled back.

"All done," she announced shyly.

"May I ask you a question?" Itachi asked coolly. Really, he was just fixing to ease his curiosity, but he found no reason to stop himself from asking. Over the past two months, Itachi had seen Sasuke and Sakura's public displays of affection three times besides the event after his mother had been healed. On all of these occurrences, Ayano Uchiha had been present. It was enough to confirm Itachi's suspicions but he wanted validation from one of the sources. Sasuke would never tell him anything, but he was sure he could crack the kunoichi.

Sakura nodded, curiosity filling her emerald eyes. It was rare that Itachi inquired anything from her. "Why are you pretending to be Sasuke's girlfriend?" he asked evenly.

Sakura's eyes widened, "Who said I'm pretending?" she snapped back.

"You do not act familiar with him in private, only in public. Also, you wouldn't risk Team Seven like that," Itachi replied curtly. Sakura stalled and her eyes seemed to be churning as she formulated an answer

Of course, he was right. She didn't really care for Sasuke that way and only held a platonic interest in him; although, he was a decent kisser. Relationships within teams were relatively frowned upon, and if one ever emerged, the team was usually reassigned in order to assuage any unwanted distractions. Sakura grinned at the Uchiha, "You have a theory?"

"Perhaps," he replied evenly. Sakura looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to reply, but to her chagrin he didn't.

"Well?" she goaded.

"Well what?" he asked, trying to hide the smirk. Sakura' eyes widened for a moment. Was Uchiha Itachi…flirting with her? In his own weird, quirky way, she got the feeling that was exactly what he was doing.

"What's your theory?" she asked, moving closer to him. Now, she was testing out her own notions. She wanted to see if he was affected by her closeness, as he had been a year and a half previous on his twenty-first birthday. Sakura had waved it off as drunken male hormones, but now she was beginning to wonder. Itachi watched to glide closer carefully, his eyes never leaving her form.

"Ayano Uchiha," he replied as his answer and Sakura's devious smile grew wider. Now, she was merely a foot away from him – a little too close to be deemed appropriate, but his eyes stayed stoic.

"You've figured us out," she replied heartily.

"Why, though?" he asked. "You don't seem like the jealous type."

Sakura wrinkled her nose. "I guess it's because she doesn't really like him; she just wants to get into the main family. That was obvious by the way she was chasing you around all last year."

"Aa," Itachi replied smoothly, eyebrows rising at her comment. She seemed a little more perturbed with the idea of Ayano following him around than she was letting on completely. "You have a problem with her…chasing me?"

Sakura huffed, the smallest amount of pink gracing her cheeks. "I just don't like fangirls," she retorted. "And you and Sasuke have them in bucket loads."

"Aa," he replied silkily. Sakura was relatively sure of it now – he was flirting with her. She could tell from the gleam in his eye, but she suspected it was only for his own amusement. Her wanting him to be interested in her was just a girlish fantasy she always had. Although she had previously been interesting in Sasuke, Sakura always found the elder Uchiha male to be interesting, intense, and amazingly attractive. Sometimes it was a bit befuddling.

A knock on the door ended their exchange, and Sakura pulled back so she was a safe distance away. Itachi could see her visibly grit her teeth, "Naruto! Sasuke! What have I told you about interrupting a physical?"

Her teammates barged through the door – Naruto first and then Sasuke following at a tempered pace behind him. "It's just teme's brother," Naruto joked. "We didn't think you'd mind."

"Nii-san," Sasuke muttered a greeting. Then he turned his attention to Sakura, "Mission."

Sakura nodded and waved to Itachi. "I'll sign your active duty slip before I leave," she called. Itachi just watched the kunoichi leave the room silently.

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AN: I hope you enjoyed and please review.


	3. Collective Hearts

AN: Hello friends! So I'm super happy with how many people have already reviewed/favorited/followed this story. We're only two chapters in! I hope you like this chapter as it is the longest I've ever written.

Anyway please read and review and tell me all of your wonderful thoughts

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**The First Time**

**Chapter 2: Collective Hearts**

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"_We were barely eighteen when we crossed collective hearts  
It was cold, but it got warm when you barely crossed my eye."_

* * *

There were some days when Itachi enjoyed being the head of the ANBU faction of Konoha shinobi. He's been told since he was very young that he was a natural born leader although he always had the distinct feeling that he was raised to be a leader. But his relatives were right, no matter their motivations, and his ranks of ANBU were kept top-notch under his leadership. However, in order to make sure he was able to keep going on missions, he appointed Neji Hyuuga as his second in command. They divided the paperwork and Konoha-related duties in order to be able to still act as active ANBU.

There were also some days when Itachi detested being head of the ANBU faction of the Konoha shinobi. Like today – the newest members of ANBU had just been inducted and now it was time for him and Neji to assign them to teams. They always mixed the teams when the new recruits passed their ANBU exams so that not one ANBU team would be comprised of all new members. But the task was tedious and the two captains have been reading through names, profiles, and mission reports for the past two days.

"Very well," Itachi muttered, grasping the piece of paper with a list of seventy names or so in his tired hand. Many of the names had arrows and color coded notes by the sides, indicating which team they should be on. "I'll take the younger Aburame and Muta-san can be transferred to Squad 3. They will need a tracker."

"That will work," Neji agreed. "Then you will have Shino as a tracker as well and Genma for offensive battles. Your team will be well balanced. Wait, who will be captain of Team 3 then? None of them are captains."

Itachi sighed, letting the paper fall onto the table. The two ANBU captains had been cooped in the Hyuuga's office at the ANBU building for twelve hours – since one o'clock in the afternoon. Itachi read through the list of names that comprised of the new Squad 3: Shisui Uchiha, Muta Aburame, and Hana Inuzuka. "Shisui. He's been ANBU for five years," was his reply. "He'll work hard."

Neji nodded his head. "He's a little bit of a loose-cannon but he'll excel as captain, especially with Hana on his team. She needs someone who can keep up with her," he replied, marking a star next to Shisui's name. His lips thinned as he contemplated his next question. "I have a request."

Itachi looked up at him. "Hm?"

"My genin teammates, Lee and Tenten, passed the exams. You'll see their names on the roster," Neji said, but he let the question hang in the air.

Itachi leafed through the names, and sure enough, found Rock Lee's and Tenten's names. "You wish for your old team back?" he asked. Neji simply inclined his head. "It will put you at a disadvantage with two new recruits."

"My team and I have been training together for nine years," was his reply.

"Very well," Itachi replied, marking Lee's and Tenten's names next to Neji's. "Only a few more names left…"

His thought was caught off by a sudden prick at the back of his neck, saying that someone was outside, scrambling up the wall towards the room they were in. Neji felt it as well, Itachi surmised, judging by the way his head shot up and he turned back towards the window. "Haruno Sakura," Itachi stated calmly, but his amusement was evident.

Neji sighed as he listened to the faltering footsteps of the kunoichi as she attempted to scale the wall to his third-floor office. "A drunken Haruno Sakura if her footsteps are any indication," Neji replied evenly, but there was a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Hm," Itachi replied as they watched the window. The kunoichi was only seventeen – a little young to indulge in such things. But he knew the team had been taking on more difficult missions lately – both physically and emotionally – and it was not uncommon for shinobi to soak their emotions in alcohol since there were few other options available for them. It's not as if they could speak of their missions to others, especially the difficult one. They had to rely on their own devices and their teammates in order to cope.

The window flew open only moments later and a grinning pink-haired kunoichi climbed through ungracefully. Stumbling over the ledge and falling into a nearby table, the kunoichi had to brace herself on a nearby chair in order to stop herself from tumbling over completely. When she righted herself, Itachi quickly noted her attire – or lack thereof. She was wearing a very short, skin tight, black mini skirt and a maroon blouse that had an open back, revealing the lean, toned muscles of her back and sides.

She turned her beaming smile up to Itachi and Neji. Wittily, she joked, "Come here often, Itachi-san?"

"Sakura-san," Itachi replied in his normal tone.

"You've been drinking," Neji stated blandly. "Again."

Sakura stuck her tongue out at the Hyuuga. "It's not my fault," she retorted unsteadily. "Blame _your_ team. I was just sitting there, at the bar, with Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke, and then your team came up and challenged us to a-"

"You didn't," Neji replied evenly. Itachi wasn't sure what he was alluding to, but he was not about to stop the conversation. Seeing the Hyuuga disgruntled was rare, and slightly amusing. He was also not about to shorten his time with Sakura. Realizing where the direction of his thoughts, he shook them off immediately.

"_They_ did," Sakura replied. Itachi raised an eyebrow to her, asking her what she meant. Sakura hiccupped and explained. "Whenever Team Gai and Team Kakashi get together for a drink, Naruto and Lee, as well as Gai and Kakashi, get into these little competitions…"

"And Lee and Tenten don't have the best tolerance for alcohol," Neji continued. "As a medic, Sakura is able to curb the effects, and due to the kyuubi, Naruto doesn't react to alcohol nearly as strong. No matter how much he drinks, Sasuke is always surly and quiet, and Kakashi holds his sake better than the Godaime Hokage. Therefore, they always win. So, Sakura, what was the bet, and what was the outcome?"

Sakura grinned, "I don't think I've ever heard you talk so much outside of giving orders for a mission, Neji-kun. Plus, you know this was your fault."

"Sakura," Neji warned. He didn't know how he felt being called 'Neji-kun' in front of his captain. Even drunk, Sakura should know better, but he supposed it had something to do with her familiarity with the elder Uchiha. Since she was on a team with Sasuke, she spent much of her time at the Uchiha compound. Most kunoichi her age were either fawning over Itachi, or too afraid of him to even be in his vicinity. She seemed to be the exception, showing no such behavior.

She pointed a wobbly finger at Neji, "You were supposed to meet me at the bar hours to save me from my team. Instead, I find you here."

"I have work to do, Sakura," Neji replied curtly. Sakura huffed, and Itachi suddenly felt that all-too-familiar twinge in his stomach whenever Sakura talked about other men or even insinuated that they were going to be on a date. Silently, he was thankful that his and Neji's work had taken so long therefore halting any plans Neji and Sakura may have had. Once again, he had to shake these feelings down. His possessiveness over the kunoichi was unnatural and it bordered on jealousy. "We aren't done making ANBU teams."

"Hm?" Sakura's head quirked, walking over to the desk where Neji and Itachi were stationed. As she leaned over Neji's shoulder, Itachi could make out every pore on her ivory skin and each muscle on her tuned back.

"Sakura, those are classified," Neji grunted, equally aware of Sakura's state of dress and her proximity. Itachi could see it in the way he shifted, glanced at her up and down, and then shifted his eyes immediately. A flush of irritation poured throughout Itachi's body, making him shake for a moment internally – how dare the Hyuuga ogle Sakura so blatantly. However, his face never showed it. Sakura merely waved him off as she studied the list.

"You're taking Shino?" she asked Itachi, glancing in his direction. Itachi merely inclined his head. "Oh, Neji-kun, you convinced him to let Tenten and Lee on your squad. They'll be so excited!" Neji coughed a bit at her brazen, and Itachi glanced at the Hyuuga. Clearly, the subject had been discussed prior to his request this evening. "I told you he would!" she continued.

Pinching the bridge of his nose in a wave of frustration, Neji asked Sakura smoothly, "Anyway, Sakura, why are you here besides halting the last of our work?"

Sakura looked up at him, confused for a moment. She seemed to be sobering up quickly, and through his Sharingan, Itachi could see that she was swirling chakra in her stomach in order to curb the alcohol. Suddenly, her jade eyes brightened and she squealed quietly. "That's right!" she exclaimed. "The bet! Kakashi and Gai got into one of their usual 'my-team-is-better-than-your-team' bicker match and now our spar tomorrow is full-contact."

Neji sighed. "It was supposed to just be a taijutsu spar, Sakura."

"I know so that's why I'm here. They wanted you to know so you would come prepared," she explained, now seemingly completely sober. "You should be prepared before you guys get your asses handed to you again."

Sakura was now leaning into Neji and the slightest twinge of pink crossed the bridge of his nose. Itachi noticed, felt annoyed, but then he focused on something the kunoichi had said. "Neji-san, has your ANBU team been beaten by a team that has only recently become jounin?"

The pink intensified slightly across his nose, but he turned to his captain with a serious face. "While individually my teammates and I are stronger, as a team, Team Kakashi is possibly the strongest shinobi team in Konoha," he explained. "As a group, they are nearly unstoppable. So yes, their team has beaten mine in spars almost seven times out of ten."

"Aa," Itachi stated, now curious. He had heard that his brother's team was strong, but he had never seen them in a battle or spar as a team. His encounters with his brother's team were usually passing ones when they fought each other on the Uchiha grounds.

"You act as if you were unaware," Neji commented.

"I was," was the monotonic reply.

"You've never seen them fight?" Neji asked. Itachi shook his head no. "You should come tomorrow, then."

"Perhaps."

"Itachi-san! You should come!" Sakura exclaimed as she jumped to twist fully to Itachi. If Itachi was anyone else, he would have jumped back at her exuberance, but he merely arched an eyebrow at her. "You'll get to see us in action! And you can help be a judge because it almost always comes down to a close call and Kakashi and Gai could hardly be deemed impartial judges."

Her face was so excited that Itachi just couldn't say no to her. He couldn't even think of disappointing her. So, Itachi inclined his head at her. "What time?"

X

Despite the fact that it was already 10 a.m., it was still cold, telling everyone that winter would soon be upon them. Team Gai arrived first – Lee and Tenten looking no worse for wear from their previous night out. Then Sasuke and Naruto arrived, Itachi following silently behind him. His younger brother had been surprised when Itachi had announced that he would watch the match, but he had just shrugged and led them to Naruto's apartment to retrieve him.

"Ah, where's that Kakashi?!" Gai exclaimed as the group came together, his head whipping back and forth, as if Kakashi would appear any second. "Undoubtedly late as always."

"Calm down," a voice said, and in a puff of smoke, the copy-nin appeared, a disgruntled looking Sakura in tow. She had been grasping the copy-nin's wrist, but released it the instant she found her feet underneath her. "I had a very persistent alarm clock who wouldn't allow me to be late."

The silver-haired-nin sounded annoyed but amused as well. Sakura just shook her head but a smirk splayed across her face – giving off the impression that being 'persistent' really meant taking a beating until the copy-nin was up and dressed. Itachi studied the kunoichi closely. She was wearing her black body suit that hugged every curve of her body with a green ninja dress that went to her mid-thigh. Strapped to a bandage that covered half of her thigh was her kunai holster, and her ninja belt wrapped around her waist loosely so it was lop-sided across her hips, with her tanto sticking out of it slackly from the back. Before anyone could notice where his gaze was, Itachi shifted his eyes away in order to look disinterested.

Kakashi seemed to notice Itachi's presence first. "Uchiha."

"Hatake."

"I brought him here to be a judge because you two lie!" Sakura explained jubilantly, pointing a playfully accusing finger to Kakashi and Gai.

"Sakura, I would never lie." Kakashi…lied. Sakura huffed, and Sasuke rolled his eyes visibly. Naruto just pointed a finger and laughed at the blatant untruth of Kakashi's statement.

"Let's get started, shall we?" Neji inclined, already foreseeing the bicker match that would surely erupt between Team Seven if they were to continue. Undoubtedly, Tenten would interject her own opinion and then Lee would jump in. Gai would try to end the quarrel but only assist in making it worse.

The others nodded as they took their positions on the training ground. Sakura pulled on her black gloves, Sasuke activated his Sharingan, all while Naruto stretched his limbs to be more pliable. Itachi, Kakashi, and Gai all sat on a nearby bench as they watched the teams square off in the center of the field. Itachi activated his Sharingan in order to see the fight for what it really was. "Full contact?" he asked quietly.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head. "Yep, no rules. We only intervene if it looks like one of them is about to die."

Gai laughed loudly. "We've only had to intervene once or twice. Usually Sakura-chan puts a stop to the fight. It's the medic in her," he explained. Itachi inclined his head in understanding and turned his attention back to the fight that was about to start. Gai turned as well, and yelled, "Begin!"

Instantly, Tenten flew into the air, unleashing a rain of senbon onto Team Seven. Sakura seemed to be prepared for this, as her fist hit the ground and a wall of earth shot up, protecting her entire team. However, Lee was already flying at them from behind in order to attack. Sasuke turned and landed a kick on his chest before Lee could effectively bind Naruto in a grip that would surely end Naruto's participation in the fight instantly. The green-clad taijutsu specialist fell back, but recovered quickly and was headed towards Naruto again. This time, Naruto was prepared for him, and he engaged the other shinobi in a fight.

Sasuke was about to join the fight when Neji appeared in front of him suddenly. The Hyuuga had a smirk on his face and his arms were crossed over his body as he waited for Sasuke's next move. It was surprising when Sasuke smirked and flung himself over the wall in order to engage Tenten in battle. This left a gleaming Sakura to face Neji. Moving his legs and arms into position, Neji prepared to strike. Sakura's palms began to glow green as her chakra scalpel formed. Neji would try to stop her from forming it completely as he lunged at her, quickly closing the distance between them.

"Team Gai is trying to separate Team Kakashi," Itachi stated blandly. It was obvious from the way Lee had just thrown Naruto into the nearby forest and how Tenten was dodging Sasuke's techniques in order to push them backward.

Kakashi chuckled. "It's the only hope Team Gai has," he replied with amusement fully apparent in his voice. "On an individual level, Team Gai has my team beat, with the exception being the sensei's (Gai scoffed), of course. However, as a group, Team Seven has combination techniques and chemistry that no others have been able to stop. If the ANBU exams were tested as teams, they would have passed years ago."

"Hm," Itachi replied solemnly. He noticed that Team Gai's strategy in separating Team Kakashi was working. However, it was working too easily. Neji had effectively pushed Sakura back into a corner between a large boulder and a tree. Naruto had escaped the forest, but was still on the border of the tree line while he dodged Lee's attacks, and Sasuke was now trying to get in a close-range fight with Tenten, so the team member's positions formed a triangle of sorts.

His theory was proven soon enough. Sakura jumped back from Neji to give her space as she began forming hand signs, and he instantly noticed that Naruto and Sasuke were doing the same. "Ah, they are planning on testing all of their new techniques today, I see," Kakashi muttered.

"Explain," Itachi stated plainly. It wasn't an order or a question, just a gentle prodding so that copy-nin would further elaborate on his meaning.

"One of the things that makes Team Seven so different is the fact that they are able to modify techniques from others they have seen in order to create new techniques," Kakashi replied quietly, "It really only works with them because of the unique combination of skills. Sasuke possesses the Sharingan and therefore has the ability to completely memorize a technique. Sakura is analytical and ingenious. She is able to modify the technique to fit their needs. Naruto has chakra stores larger than anybody else so he is able to practice each modification that Sakura makes over and over again – thus creating a jutsu that suits their needs in a record amount of time. This particular one was only in the concept stages two days ago. I believe it is adapted from an Uchiha skill."

"Interesting," Itachi muttered as he continued to watch the fight unfold.

The group's hand signs were over in mere moments and they held their palms to the sky, focusing on a center point. Instantly, a surge and line of lightning emitted from their palms individually. It met in the center of the field about twenty feet above the ground, forming a large ball of electrical waves. In less than a second, the lightning was now separating, and apparently heading straight back towards Team Seven. That's when Itachi saw it – it wasn't heading for Team Seven, but their opponents.

Neji saw it just in time and flew out of the way as Sakura did the same. The lightning blast crashed into the boulder that she had been standing on just moments before, shattering it to pieces as rock and debris crumbled onto the battlefield. Tenten and Lee weren't as lucky as the blast of lightning hit them both. Tenten was clearly most affected as she had three large metal weapons in her arms that conducted the lightning right to her. Lee was able to pull himself up quickly, and hopped over to where Neji was quickly retrieving Tenten.

"Since Sakura is more inclined to use wind jutsu, she has trouble with lightning, but Sasuke has a particular disposition towards fire and lightning. So they combined their lightning blasts in order to equally damage Team Gai as opposed to Sakura hitting Neji with a weak and inefficient blast or using too much of her chakra in order to land an effective hit. It also uses up less chakra for her since she has Sasuke's and Naruto's blast as a buffer to help her," Kakashi explained evenly. "It also is a counter to when they find themselves separated in battle. They can still fight together this way."

"I see," Itachi replied, completely riveted with the battle. Momentarily, not that he would ever admit it, he felt pride for his brother swell within him. When Sasuke had first been assigned to Team Kakashi, he had been disappointed with his teammates. He saw both Naruto and Sakura as weak. Now, they were working as a cohesive unit that was clearly a force on the battlefield. Obviously, his teammates had taken him to a level that he would have never reached with another team. They pushed him to be so much more than he even realized due to their opposing skill sets and areas of expertise. Itachi was forced to push back his inner musings towards the battle as it was now continuing.

The jutsu had obviously taken its toll on Sasuke's team, which wasn't horribly surprising since the jutsu was apparently only two days old. Mastery of such a technique would take time in order to make it more efficient. Sasuke was panting from exertion, and Sakura swayed slightly when she bolted to where Naruto was standing. Her previous battle with the Hyuuga had been brief but intense, and he had managed to hit her a few times in the torso with his gentle fist technique. Using his Sharingan, Itachi could make out where she had forced chakra through the barriers that the Hyuuga had made. Due to her exhaustion, it hadn't been easy to overcome. The only one who didn't look fazed was Naruto since minor amounts of his chakra were used.

The groups were now towards the south end of the clearing, only a few feet away from a line of trees. Team Seven was the first to strike. Sakura began by making hand signs quickly and she parted her lips. With a gust of chakra-infused breath and a wave of her hands, a large gust of wind flew towards Team Gai. Team Gai didn't seemed too phased, but Sasuke was now making his own hand signs and added fire to the wind technique, making the flames whip wildly and quickly towards the others. Naruto had been simultaneously making his own hand signs, and with a puff of smoke he disappeared. Itachi strained, trying to see what was happening.

"There are shuriken hidden in the fire!" Tenten called. The team separated, jumping out of the way of the blast. Itachi saw them – the silver glinting of the shuriken was unmistakable as they flew past them, heading for the trees. He then noticed that the shuriken were coated in chakra, green chakra, as if to protect them…

"You'll have to do better than that," Neji called, but the rest of his gloating was cut off by bursts of smoke behind them. Whipping back, all of the metal shuriken that had been hiding in the fire were now changing into twenty Naruto clones, who were throwing a barrage of shuriken and kunai at Team Gai. Tenten was able to block most of them, and Neji dodged them all. However, Lee took several kunai to the arms, legs, and torso. As he attempted to stand, Lee stumbled forward and collapsed in a heap.

"Lee, you're out!" Gai called from the bench. He was then darting towards the group and picking up his student's lifeless body and returning to the bench. "I'm going to take him to the hospital. I'll be back soon, Kakashi, so no cheating while I'm gone!" With that, Gai was running towards Konoha.

"There was a paralyzing agent in the weapons," Kakashi stated.

"Hm," Itachi agreed.

The two remaining members of Team Gai were now squaring off with Team Kakashi. While Sasuke's team had more people, Itachi could see that they were just as haggard as their opposition. The jutsu they were using was taking up much of their chakra and Sakura was still struggling to move chakra in her own body due to Neji's earlier attacks. The battle seemed to be evenly matched for the final moments.

Surprisingly, Tenten took on Naruto and Sasuke, leaving Neji to battle Sakura once again. This time, Itachi surmised, the kunoichi would not be able to beat the ANBU captain. Neji moved to her quickly and fluidly as his fists attacked. Sakura was doing all she could to block as her chakra scalpels formed once again. However, he was faster and more agile this time around.

Sakura dodged what would be a debilitating hit from the Hyuuga, forcing Neji forward. Sakura saw her opportunity and forced him down with a chakra infused elbow to the back. As he fell, he twisted around and grabbed an unsuspecting Sakura's wrist, bringing her down with him. As they fell, Neji shifted their positions so he was now straddling the Sakura when they hit the ground. His hands hit her quickly in the shoulders and forced her arms above her head. Instinctively, Itachi's body stiffened at the compromising position and irritation coursed through him. it was a fairly common position male shinobi used to subdue kunoichi, but Itachi didn't like that the Hyuuga was using the compromising position on this _particular _kunoichi.

"Give up," Neji commanded.

"No," she hissed back, struggling underneath him as she attempted to force chakra into her arms. Her attempts were futile as Neji's attacks had completely blocked off the chakra flow to her arms, disabling her most deadly weapon.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled, forming hand signs. Sasuke took a moment to distract Tenten so that Naruto could mount an attack on Neji. However, Tenten wasn't going to allow that and she blocked the blond ninja.

Neji forced a kunai to Sakura's throat, who cringed away from the offending weapon. "Sakura," he warned. "Give up."

"Never!" she spat back. Lashing out with her leg, she attempted to strike Neji in his back with her knee but because of his position the effort was unsuccessful. "Get off me!"

In turn, Neji pressed the kunai tighter to her gullet, allowing a drop of blood to pour from her throat. Sakura went still for a moment, but her face was furrowed in determination. Neji saw it at the last moment as she used the last of her strength to force chakra into her arms and yanked her arms up so she grabbed both of Neji's holding them in place behind her head. "Naruto!" Sakura called.

On cue, a burst of rubble erupted from the ground just above Sakura head. Naruto was pulling himself out of the ground, a burst of wind in his hand that indicated he had formed the rasengan. Neji attempted to jerk back but Sakura's chakra-laden hands were keeping him in place. Itachi turned his attention back to Sasuke's and 'Naruto's' fight with Tenten, now realizing that the Uzumaki had switched himself out with a clone. Tenten hit the clone with a kunai, dispelling it quickly. Neji had thrown himself down and pressed himself fully onto Sakura to avoid the rasengan, and Sakura grunted in surprise (Itachi forced himself not to outwardly jerk in frustration at their position). It was all she could take, though, and the chakra dissipated from her arms.

With no other options, Neji's hand went to the back of Sakura's neck to settle on a pressure point that would cause her to go unconscious if he pressed it. She looked irate and Naruto was nowhere nearby to help as Tenten had quickly left Sasuke engage the real Naruto in battle, but finally sputtered, "I'm done."

Neji smirked and pulled off of her instantly as Sakura heaved up and stomped over to where Gai (who had already returned from depositing Lee at the hospital), Kakashi, and Itachi were sitting. With a huff, she crossed her legs and sat down, folding her arms in front of her chest. "You did well, Sakura," Kakashi commented. She didn't turn to face him but merely sighed angrily.

Itachi stared at her for a moment, noting that she was completely exhausted, but turned back to the battle that was now quickly ending. Sasuke had pressed a pressure point on the back of Tenten's neck which caused her to slump into an unconscious heap on the ground. Truthfully, the kunoichi would not have lasted much longer had she continued to fight. Now, Sasuke and Naruto were going after a fatigued looking Neji. A rasengan was thrown directly at the Hyuuga's chest, but he was able to catch the arm. But Sasuke was behind him and wrapped a kunai around his neck. Neji looked back, annoyance crossing his features.

"I surrender."

Naruto smiled and threw a fist in the air. Sasuke merely smirked. Itachi turned to Sakura, who was pulling herself off of the ground. Naruto was running towards them while Sasuke and Neji (who was carrying Tenten) followed at a more subdued pace. "Let's go get ramen to celebrate!" Naruto called. Grabbing Sakura's and Kakashi's hand, he began to pull them in the direction of Ichiraku.

As they were being pulled away, Sakura turned back to smile at the group. "See you later, Neji-kun, Gai-sensei, Itachi-san!"

Neji and Itachi both inclined their heads simultaneously and Sakura gave them a lop-sided smile. Sasuke stopped next to his brother. Itachi looked at him solemnly. "You should be proud of yourself and your team. You impressed me."

The sentence was so short and simple, and Sasuke didn't respond outwardly, but Itachi saw the instant glint of happiness and gratification in his eyes. Sasuke tilted his head in acknowledgement and followed his teammates towards town.

X

_Three weeks later_

There was a small, constant layer of frost on the ground that indicated winter was now in fully upon Konoha. Itachi walked slowly from his home, wearing a large, thick jacket. He found taking walks this time of year peaceful as he mused what he would get his family for Christmas. He still had a few weeks left, but being a perfectionist, he always tried to plan ahead. Sasuke was sitting in the front of the house on the porch clad in a thick blue sweater and cloak, hands crossed over his chest.

Itachi stopped next to him. Looking up to meet his eye, Sasuke muttered, "Naruto's coming."

"Hm?" Itachi questioned, raising an eyebrow. He did not sense the Uzumaki's chakra signature nearby.

"I guess you could say it's like a sixth sense," Sasuke replied warily, and turned back to face the front gate. Itachi had no time to question this, as they soon opened and an exuberant blond ninja dashed into the compound. However, his face was laced with worry and Itachi saw Sasuke stiffen automatically. Deciding to leave them to talk privately, Itachi turned and made his way towards the woods that surrounded the Uchiha compound. The woods would be more private and peaceful.

As he walked, he heard the blond shout, "We have to find Sakura-chan! Tsunade-baa-sama just found me and she said something was wrong-"

His voice quieted as Itachi walked into the bare, leafless woods. He forced himself to ignore the blond ninja's words. It would not due for Itachi to listen in on a conversation about Sakura when he was fighting to keep the kunoichi from his mind in the first place. There were plenty of pine trees, though, that left a crisp nature scent in the forest. He allowed his mind to wander to the upcoming Christmas season.

Sasuke would get a new set of weapons. Knowing that his brother needed to replace his old set that would barely stay sharp for more than a few rounds of sparring, Itachi found this would be most appropriate. He had noticed his mother complaining how she needed new mixing bowls and a new spice set, and decided he would go get her those. His father was never an easy man to buy for. Usually, his mother would purchase something for him and just tack Itachi and Sasuke's names on it; therefore, he needn't worry about him.

Buying for Shisui was easy, though. The new Icha Icha book box set had just come out and his elder cousin had taken quite a liking to the set (he blamed Shisui's brief stint on Hatake Kakashi's ANBU team when he was younger for this particular perversion). He had purchased his new ANBU teammates vouchers for food, drink, and lodging in other countries. Sometimes ryou didn't work in foreign shinobi countries and ninja found themselves camping, hunting, and fishing for their basic needs during missions. The vouchers were good in any of the major countries, though, and were often very expensive.

His thoughts were abruptly halted. One mile into his stroll, Itachi heard a muffled grunt several yards to his left. Quietly, he made his way to the source of the noise. As he got closer he heard another choking sound coming from a very large, bare oak tree.

Moving around it, he found a crumpled looking Sakura Haruno leaning against the trunk on a branch several meters in the air. She didn't know he was there, or at least she didn't acknowledge his presence. Clad in her medic scrubs only, Itachi noticed a profuse amount of blood smeared on her shirt and pants. However, he couldn't get a look at her to see if she was injured because she was curled into the fetal position – head collapsed in her knees as she shook. Another choked groan escaped her and she shook again. Itachi realized the girl was crying. Heart lurching at the sight, he looked down to see a small twig next to his foot. Pressing his foot down, he allowed the twig to snap, announcing his presence.

Sakura's head shot up and she immediately looked at Itachi with red-rimmed, wet, jade eyes. She was still shaking, either from emotional trauma, the cold, or a combination of both. Itachi noted she was not wearing any sort of jacket and the temperature was much too cold to only be wearing thin medic scrubs. "I-I-it-itachi-san?" she murmured and hiccupped as another wave of tears rushed down her flushed face.

"Sakura-san," Itachi replied and inclined his head.

"What're you doing here?" she asked through a shaky voice.

"This is the Uchiha compound," he replied evenly although he was entirely unsure how to handle the situation. He had very rarely seen anyone cry in his presence before and it unnerved him, especially coming from the usually vibrant Sakura Haruno. He felt no amount of enjoyment looking at the pure _pain_ in her expression as she gazed uncertainly at him.

"Oh, right," she all but whispered back.

"Come down here," he ordered smoothly, but with no venom or harshness.

"Uhm…" she started, "No it's okay. I'm just going to-"

"Sakura-san," he warned. She cringed, but did as she was told. Her movements were graceful yet hesitant as she unfolded herself and jumped so she landed a few feet in front of him. Itachi swept his gaze up and down on her figure, noting that there were several large stains of blood on the front of her uniform.

Noticing what he was looking at, Sakura choked out with another half-sob, "Not mine." Judging by the pain in her voice Itachi felt she almost wished it was her blood. "I…" she continued uncertainly, "I don't wish to speak about it."

"Very well," he replied silkily. Noticing she was still shaking and her nose was turning even redder from the cold, he pulled his jacket off in one swift movement and placed it gently around her shoulders. He was already wearing a thick sweater, so the jacket was not truly needed. But he didn't want to give his mother another reason to worry, as she surely would if he left the house without it. She looked at him, shocked. "Your teammates are looking for you."

"Oh…" her eyes widened in comprehension. "Shishou must have told them to find me. She usually sends someone when I…in these situations…"

Itachi was not sure what happened, but the girl was blatantly avoiding talking about whatever upset her so much. So he inclined his head and stated, "I'll walk you back to the compound. I can sense Sasuke and Naruto there."

The girl nodded and followed slowly behind him. Their walk was short and was held in a companionable silence. As they approached the compound, Itachi could make out the outline of Sasuke and Naruto at front of the house. Naruto was waving his hands around wildly and Sasuke was turning away from him, annoyed. That's when onyx eyes looked up to see Itachi and Sakura emerge from the forest.

Naruto must have seen as well because as Sakura and Itachi approached, he yelled, "SAKURA-CHAN WE'VE BEEN SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU!" The boy leapt past Sasuke and Itachi (nearly knocking them both over, and he would have had they not been shinobi) and grasped Sakura in a large bear hug. During their walk, the girl had stopped crying, but in Naruto's large arms, Itachi could see her shoulders shaking as her hands went around Naruto's waist and up to grasp his shoulders in a desperate hug. "You want to go get ramen for dinner, Sakura-chan?" Naruto whispered uncharacteristically tender in her ear.

His loving tone made the twinge of annoyance cross through Itachi, but he was now very used to ignoring it. Plus, he had no right to be annoyed in this situation. They were her teammates and it was their job to console her. Perhaps he was just irritated that he could not be the one to do so. Immediately, he forced his thoughts back because they were suddenly going to a very dangerous place – thoughts of Sakura and his unnatural emotional connection to the girl. Sakura nodded her head in Naruto's chest and now Sasuke was making his way past Itachi. Grabbing her hand, Sasuke muttered, "Let's go then."

Sakura and Naruto whirled around, but suddenly Sakura stopped. She began to take of the jacket Itachi gave her, but then noticed all the blood that was splattered across her uniform. Looking up at Itachi, he held up his hand before she could speak, "Just give it to Sasuke at the end of the night."

Her face exuded pure gratitude for a moment as she zipped the jacket up so it covered the stains of blood. Turning around, Naruto grasped one of Sakura's hands. Tentatively, Itachi noticed Sasuke pulling his hand out of one of his pockets and taking the other. Sakura's shoulders noticeably slackened and seemed to be a bit perkier then they were before as Team Seven walked together out of the compound.

About two hours later, Itachi was sitting in the kitchen with Fugaku and Mikoto. His mother was doing the dishes while he and his father 'discussed' clan business. In reality, Fugaku spoke and Itachi 'hn'd and 'aa'd every few minutes to indicate he was listening. Then his sensed pricked, indicating that Sasuke had returned and had brought his teammates with him.

Opening the door to the kitchen, Sasuke still had his head turned towards Naruto and Sakura who were outside. "Go get her some clothes, dobe," he ordered. "And let her shower first." He then turned to his family who were all staring at him curiously. Grimly, he stated, "Sakura and Naruto are staying here tonight. She lost a patient on the table today and she doesn't want to be alone."

"Oh the poor thing!" Mikoto cried as she ran to the fridge. Pulling out dango, she placed it in the microwave to heat it up. "Of course they can stay!"

"We'll be sleeping in the living room so we can watch a movie," Sasuke noted as his mother thrust a tray with dango and milk into his hands. Itachi thought about the kunoichi for a moment. She was probably inconsolable at this point. The most accomplished medic in Konoha would surely be devastated from losing a comrade or anyone for that matter under her care. Sakura was also extra emotional by shinobi standards, so it most likely hit her harder than less partial ninja.

"Sakura-chan can stay as long as she needs, right, Fugaku?" Mikoto spoke hurriedly. Fugaku merely 'hm'd in response. Itachi doubted he was listening. "Go get comfortable, Sasuke. And let me know if you need anything. And make sure to be extra nice to Sakura-chan."

"Hm," Sasuke replied evenly and walked out of the room. Itachi just watched him go for a moment and the longing to go to Sakura to console her was overwhelming. Quickly dismissing the feeling, he turned back down to the report in Fugaku's hand. Perhaps he would find her tomorrow…

The two Uchiha men had stayed in the kitchen discussing Uchiha business until well after dark. It was almost midnight, and Mikoto had retired to bed several hours ago. Fugaku continued to blame Itachi – if only he were home more than they wouldn't have to go over such matters in one sitting. Itachi ignored it. Now, though, he walked through the house towards his room. He had a mission starting tomorrow evening that would take at least a week or two, meaning he would have to rise early in order to get his Christmas shopping done.

He walked past the living room and noticed that Sasuke and Naruto were both asleep on the floor. There was an area in between them with a pillow and blanket that was conspicuously empty. Looking up at the couch, he saw Sakura sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest as she stared at the television screen in front of her. Instead of her blood-soaked scrubs, she was now wearing a long-sleeved black shirt and large black pants that were two-sizes too big on her. Sasuke's old clothes, he noted. They would definitely be too small on Sasuke now, at least.

Sakura noticed Itachi and waved to him. Itachi nodded at her, intending to go upstairs, but he realized she was now jumping over her teammates to join him. Silently, he pulled back from the door to allow her to exit; noting that the Uchiha fan was decorated on the back of her shirt, he instantly thought of how much he like Sakura sporting his family moniker.

"Would you like to have tea with me before you go to sleep?" she whispered, jerking Itachi from his thoughts of her as an Uchiha wife... Her eyes were less red and her face had turned back to her normal complexion, but Itachi could see the grief in her expressive emerald eyes.

Instead of answering, he turned back to the kitchen. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw a bemused Sakura, so he waved his head slightly so she would follow. Sakura sat at the table, twiddling her thumbs, while Itachi poured them tea. He sat across from her and just regarded her wordlessly.

She drank her tea silently, not taking her eyes from the cup. Itachi could tell she wished to say something, but she was hesitating. "You do not need to speak of it if you wish," he stated, trying to sound impartial. "But if you want to…"

Sakura gave him a genuine smile, but there was sadness deep within it. "He was only eight," she began. Itachi could tell she was already fighting tears. "He was working on his roof with his father when the morning frost made him slip. He fell two stories, hit a sharp edge that caused a large incision on his stomach, gutting him, and then fell directly on his head."

"It was not instantly fatal?" he asked.

Sakura shook her head tentatively. "Almost," she began. "He was barely alive when we got him. He was too far gone…but…I still had to try…"

"I see," Itachi replied.

"I guess I'm tired of failing. I'm tired of feeling like the weak one," she muttered, but Itachi could tell it was more for her than for him because her face flushed suddenly. "Sorry…I didn't mean to say that out loud."

"Hm," he replied. Thinking for a moment, that she was very likely speaking of her position on his brother's team as well as her proficiency as a medic, he replied, "You are far from a failure. You are also far from weak. If not for you, your teammates would not have survived this long. If not for you, Team Seven would no longer exist. There would also surely be many ninja in Konoha who would undoubtedly be dead if not for you…including myself. Do not doubt your abilities and your importance. Accidents happen, Sakura-san. You can't save everyone."

Sakura's eyes almost bulged out of her head, but she chuckled. Itachi tilted his head, confused as how what he said could be considered funny. "I've never heard you talk so much at once," she joked and a genuine smile crossed her face. Itachi felt his body internally shake with pride that he had been the one to put the smile there. "But thank you…Itachi…" she replied warily. "I needed to hear that."

Itachi inwardly jerked at her lack of '-san' at the end of his name as male-satisfaction spilled throughout his entire body. _Finally_, he mused, _real progress_. "Everything I said was true," he replied truthfully. She nodded and finished her tea, and Itachi could tell she was exhausted. "Come," he commanded lightly. "You should rest."

Leaving her in the living room where she climbed between Sasuke and Naruto, wrapping her arms around Naruto's and leaning her head on his shoulder, Itachi felt slightly light and heady from the personal interaction with Sakura. He could get used to this feeling.

* * *

AN: There you go! This was actually the longest chapter I have written for fanfiction to date. I hope you liked it and please review! You should all be expecting a chapter for Nothing but the Truth next!


	4. Nothing of Romance

AN: Alright so here's another chapter of The First Time.

Thank you for your time reading this and reviewing and all that fun stuff :)

* * *

**The First Time**

**Chapter 3: Nothing of Romance**

* * *

"_And then you turned, put out your hand, and you asked me to dance  
I knew nothing of romance, but it was love at second sight."_

* * *

"So you three are all moving in together?" she asked again, folding clothes and placing them in appropriate boxes.

"Hn." He just sat on his bed, watching his pink-haired teammate pack his room.

"You, your brother, _and_ Shisui?" Her voice sounded incredulous, as if the idea was the most preposterous thing she'd ever heard. Now that she was finished with his clothes, she had moved onto packing his weapons into several pouches and backpacks.

"Hn." Once again, Sasuke made no move to help. Originally, he'd tried to pack his room himself, but Sakura interrupted to find out if there was any truth to the rumor that he was moving into a three bedroom house outside of the Uchiha district with his brother and Shisui. After finding out the rumors _were_ indeed true, she proceeded to scold him for not telling his teammates and best friends ("Really, Sasuke, what were you thinking not letting me and Naruto know?" "The decision was made only recently." "Whatever, Sasuke, that's just something you tell your best friends!" "Hn.").

She seemed satisfied with that answer, but then she began to chide him for just throwing his things into several cardboard boxes. She insisted, for several minutes, that he needed to be more careful and began organizing his things. The hours passed, and she had now packed most of his room for him. Whenever he attempted to help or do anything, she would sigh, wince, and huff at his attempts until he had just stopped altogether.

"Don't you think that's more testosterone than you can handle?" Her voice was amused and her eyes held a glinting smirk behind them, but her face stayed as straight as she could keep it.

It had been almost two months since she'd lost the boy on the operating table, and she was now back to her normal self. Usually, it didn't take too long for her to recover. Eventually she would have to concede that sometimes tragedies like that just happened, but that didn't make it any easier. Slowly, though, the pain and guilt ebbed with the help of missions, training, sake, but namely: her friends.

"Hn."

Sakura snorted as she closed the last box with a triumphant smile. "There. All done!" she called in excitement.

This time, it was Sasuke's turn to snort. "Really, Sakura, you're so easily amused."

Sakura arched an eyebrow at him, her hands landing on her hips as she stood to face him. "What's that supposed to mean?" she hissed in a mocking way.

"You find the most mundane tasks entertaining," Sasuke replied pointedly.

"Do not!" she retorted vehemently.

"Grocery shopping, the dishes, cooking, sewing, packing, sharpening weapons, painting your apartment…" he began to list. Sakura just rolled her eyes, annoyed that her teammate was in fact _right_ about all of those things.

"So what's wrong with enjoying these 'mundane' tasks? We're ninja, Sasuke, and sometimes, with the stress of everything, mundane tasks can be calming!" Sakura vehemently retorted.

Sasuke minutely rolled his eyes. "You're annoying."

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest. "You're an ass."

"Agreed," a voice said from the door.

Sakura jumped and squeaked, turning around quickly to find Uchiha Itachi leaning against the frame of the door. His eyebrow was raised slightly in amusement at the scene. "How long have you been standing there?" Sakura chirped, a smile forming on her face the instant she settled and recognized that the man in the doorway was not a threat. _Really_. Sakura thought to herself. _He shouldn't be able to sneak around like that_.

"Long enough," he answered cryptically, the ends of his lips tugging upward in a lopsided smirk as he saw the smile that Sakura had for him. Before she could reply, he added, "You were helping Sasuke pack?"

Sakura nodded enthusiastically. "You just got back from a mission, right?" she asked. "Your mother was packing your room earlier."

"Hm," Itachi replied, inclining his head at her.

Sakura's eyes instantly went to scan up and down his frame checking for injuries. She attempted to keep the blush that was surely forming on her cheeks from becoming too noticeable. For her, it began the day they met. She had been five years old. When she had knocked Sasuke off of his brother's back and tackled him to the ground, she had paid little attention to Itachi. However, when he bent down and picked Sasuke from the ground, Sakura had stood up and looked at him for the first time. He was only nine at the time, but he looked so serious and jaded for someone so young, that Sakura felt so _sad_ for a moment. Then, his lips had tugged and he smirked, clearly amused. That was it. That was all it took and Sakura was gone.

Years later, she had thought she was in love with Sasuke. She was so convinced that he was the one she had been in love with all that time, but she was wrong. There were the little signs that she was clearly taken with Itachi – the way her heart would jump when he was nearby. She put it off as mere attraction at the time. No one could deny that Uchiha Itachi was incredibly attractive, so that was what she told herself in order to quell her feelings.

One day, everything for her changed.

Itachi came back from a mission, bleeding from more internal wounds than she had ever seen. In fact, most of his innards were gutted, torn, and in the wrong place. He should have been dead, but he was barely holding onto life. Her hands trembled and her entire body was wracked with fear for his life that Sakura had trouble concentrating on healing him. Sakura had worked tirelessly that night. After six hours of extensive surgery, she had nearly collapsed from chakra exhaustion, absolutely drained. She had pushed herself so far, further than she ever had for anyone else, but her mind and heart were so happy. He would pull through, and now she could return home and get some much needed rest. Before she did, though, his eyes cracked open ever so slightly, and Sakura had been filled with so much relief and excitement that she wanted to cry. "Come here often, Itachi-san?" she quipped to him before she could think of anything else. Before he drifted back into unconsciousness, Sakura saw his lips quirk into an amused smile. The realization hit her then, with full force.

She was in love with Uchiha Itachi.

Not that she would _ever_ admit it to anyone. Ino knew of her interest, but that was it. She had never bothered to tell her best friend the extent of her feeling for him because she knew what Ino would say – something along the lines of 'go jump his bones!'. Anyway, she knew that Uchiha Itachi was older, talented, a prodigy, and extremely good looking. He was, in short, much too good to be bothered with his younger brother's medic teammate.

That's not to say that he wasn't kind to her. If anything, he was nicer to her than Sasuke was. He was never shy about complimenting her when he would catch glimpses of her healing abilities or a new jutsu she would use in a spar on the Uchiha grounds. He was always considerate, like giving her his jacket to hide the blood of the boy who died under her scalpel. Sakura always reciprocated his kindness as graciously and whole-hearted as she could, and he always seemed pleased to make her smile. It made trying to get over him that much more difficult.

Of course, she had seen other people and been in a few other relationships, but there was always a constant, nagging voice in the back of her head that told her that Uchiha Itachi was the perfect man.

Now, she was leering at the perfect man suspiciously, as he was concealing his right side and she could see his left hand tentatively placed on the side of his ribs. "Itachi, are you injured?" she asked shiftily, watching his face intently for any signs of deception.

_There!_ His eye twitched ever-so-slightly. It was miniscule, and if she hadn't been studying him closely, she would have missed it. In being best friends with Uchiha Sasuke for so long, she had learned how to observe the Uchiha men for the smallest of changes that indicated their moods. Therefore, with the slightest twitch of his left tear duct, she knew he was going to lie.

"No," he replied silkily. That particular tone always made her knees feel like jello, but her medic-mode was on now, and she was able to avoid thinking of the way her stomach flipped with butterflies.

"Lie," she called out bluntly. Itachi arched an eyebrow at her, but she held her ground. Sakura smiled smugly as he tried to shift his way to prove he was uninjured, but failed miserably. Well, not miserably. No one else would have seen it, but Sakura was too well trained in Uchiha body language to miss the way he bit the inside of his cheek in order to quell the pain. "Let me heal you."

"That is unnecessary."

Her hands landed on her hips stubbornly. "It is necessary!"

"Just let her heal you, aniki. You'll never win," Sasuke interrupted the tense standoff in his room.

Itachi sighed ever so slightly, indicating to Sakura that he was exasperated, but moved to the bed with tentative footsteps and sat next to Sasuke. Sakura smiled triumphantly. "Take off your shirt," she ordered.

It was something she'd said to him a million times, but the pleased look on Itachi's face made the hairs on the back of Sakura's neck stand up as heat rushed up her body. In a clash of obsidian and onyx, they simply stared at each other for a moment.

"Should I leave you two alone?" Sasuke asked sarcastically.

"Shut up!" Sakura exclaimed as her fist connected with the top of Sasuke's head, her face getting warmer from embarrassment. Itachi smirked and pushed his chakra-infused index finger roughly into the center of Sasuke's forehead after Sakura had finished her assault.

"Ow," Sasuke hissed a bit, rubbing both spots on his head. Standing abruptly, he stalked towards the door, muttering something about 'perfect for each other', and left them alone.

Sakura stared at the door where Sasuke had just escaped, but quickly reverted her gaze back to the elder Uchiha whose face was nothing short of entertained. If it had been anyone else, they would have been laughing hysterically, but Sakura could tell that Itachi had enjoyed the double-teaming of his brother by the smirk on his lips and the light in his onyx eyes. Sakura gave him a pointed look, silently telling him to take off his shirt.

This time, he obliged. Sakura tried not to ogle him. Really, she did, but it was to no avail. Luckily, after many years of healing what Ino called 'hunks' like Kakashi (he always kept his mask on, though), Sasuke, Naruto (No one knew when he got so attractive. It was like one day, there he was, shirtless, tan, and grinning like a model), Kiba, and Shikamaru, Sakura was able to keep her gaze discreet. His muscles were lean but well defined, and you could see every ripple against his snowy-white skin – which always felt like silk, by the way. Trying to keep herself professional, Sakura knelt on the ground next to him and to examine the wound on his right ribs.

It was a gash about six inches long. No muscle seemed to be disturbed, and it hadn't broken any bones, but it was serious enough to warrant a trip to the hospital for a medic to seal up. The wound was still wet with blood, and there was a good chance of infection if left untreated. Sakura's brows furrowed in annoyance as she prodded the wound lightly with her healing chakra.

"You know, Itachi, one of these days you're just going to keel over and die from infection and it'll be your fault for not going to see a doctor," she chastised in her doctor-voice.

"I do not require a doctor. I have you."

His words made her still instantly, and she tried her best not to gape at him in awe. As she composed herself, she formulated a response. "You didn't seem to have any intentions of letting me heal it when you lied and told me you didn't have a wound," she rebuffed as her fingers were sealing the skin over.

"I knew you would find out," was his emphatic reply.

"Oh, did you, now?" She retorted, studying the wound to make sure she left no hint of unclean flesh.

"Hm."

"How'd you know then?" She asked as she finished her work, looking up at him with skeptical emerald eyes.

"I'm aware of your proficiency as a medic, and I knew you would notice I was injured."

"How'd you know I would heal you?" she challenged.

"You told me you would if I came to you."

"Oh." That's right, she had told him that, hadn't she? "Well," she said in a quiet, caring voice. A little more so than she meant to, "I'm glad you did."

"As am I."

Sakura found herself looking into his eyes once again, and he met her gaze with an intense look back, and neither of them faltered.

"Am I interrupting something?" a cheerful voice asked. First, Sakura turned towards the door, but there was no one there. "This way!" Her head snapped towards the window to find a boisterous Uchiha leaning into Sasuke's window. He jumped in gracefully and, if it was possible, gracefully tackled Sakura into the ground before she had time to blink or process what was going on. "Sakura-chan, I missed you while I was on my mission!"

"Shisui," Sakura replied from underneath the older Uchiha as she tried not to suffocate under his rambunctious embrace. Really, sometimes he got out of hand, but she had a soft spot for him. He was so much like Naruto and so…_not_ Uchiha that it was hard not to like Shisui. "Are you injured?" she asked casually as Shisui pulled off of her, sitting on his knees, Sakura following suit.

"My lips hurt, Sakura-chan. Only a kiss will heal them," he replied without missing a beat, grinning at her.

Sakura rolled her eyes in response. "That's not something I can help you with, Shisui," she retorted.

"Sure you can," he replied with a grin. Then he puckered his lips and leaned into Sakura smoothly.

Itachi was the one to react this time. His finger went out again, laced with chakra, and he flicked Shisui in the head. The flicker expert flickered straight back and into a wall with a loud _thud_. "You really need to learn tact," Itachi muttered through gritted teeth. Sakura would have seen his frustration if she hadn't been hovering over Shisui like a worried mother.

"Ow, Itachi! Why'd you do that?!" Shisui cried in protest.

"You are embarrassing."

"That's not nice!"

"I'm aware of the level of 'niceness' that my sentences contain. There's no need for you to point it out."

"You're like a robot."

"You are foolish."

"I'll slice you with a kunai again!"

"That is not funny."

"I thought it was pretty hilarious."

"Sakura would be the one to heal me. Would you really waste her time like that?"

"Sakura-chan loves us!"

"Perhaps."

Sakura rolled her eyes at the two and stood up. Their bickering stopped immediately as she sauntered to the door. Flashing them her winning grin, she stepped over the threshold to see Sasuke standing there with a tomato in his hand. "They're all yours," she muttered. "I'm training with Tsunade tomorrow so I need my rest."

She was about to leave when Sasuke caught her by the elbow tightly. The look on his face was enough to make Shisui and Itachi halt their bickering match (which had resumed the moment Sakura had stepped out of the door) and stare at the youngest Uchiha. His eyes were filled with apprehension and a little worry. "Do not overdo it again, Sakura. You know what happened last time."

She smiled a knowing, sad smile at him and nodded. He released her slowly and watched her as she retreated out of the Uchiha compound.

X

It burned.

It ached.

It bruised.

It constricted.

It was killing her.

Sakura tried to breathe, but her lungs weren't working the way they should be at the moment. Slowly, her knees gave out and she toppled over, catching herself by the palms of her hands. The burning sensation didn't subside with her new position, and she tried her best to ignore the feeling of her lungs slowly ripping and tearing at her from the inside out. Now, the pressure on her lungs felt as if they were about to give out as she coughed, trying to circulate oxygen to her body. Blood flowed from a steady stream from her mouth onto the grass in front of her.

"Sakura, you need to be able to get chakra to your entire body. What happens if your chakra pathways are collapsed by an enemy ninja and you can't heal your team?" Tsunade's voice was angry as she stood over her student. To a passerby, it may seem that Tsunade was being much too cruel to the seventeen-year-old, but Sakura knew it was just the way her shishou was, and it was the best way for Sakura to learn. "Everyone dies, that's what happens. Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, all dead."

Sakura hacked another spout of blood, but focused her attention on her chakra. The exercise was meant to collapse her chakra pathways, and she would attempt to rebuild them in order to heal her team. However, she couldn't get chakra into the points of her body where she could unclasp the pathways. She'd been at it for almost an hour, trying over and over to figure out a way to do it, but it seemed impossible. The only way she knew of was to use chakra in her fingers to manually de-collapse the pathways or have someone else do it, but she couldn't get chakra to her hands because the pathways leading to her arms had been collapsed. It was a horrible conundrum.

Her last resort was attempting to force large amounts of chakra through the pathways, hoping they would spring open. However, so much chakra circulating in huge gusts throughout her body was now harming her vital organs – like her lungs.

Naruto and Sasuke looking on like parents – trying, and failing, to hide discreetly in the trees in order to make sure she was alright – wasn't helping either. If anything, they were only distracting her from her work. Her eyes clasped shut, she tried one more time to force chakra through the collapsed passages, but it didn't work. That was all her body could take, and her arms gave out underneath her as she fell into the ground.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto called as he lost all form of self-control and bound from their hiding spot. "Tsunade-baa-sama, knock it off! You're killing her!"

"Naruto!" Tsunade growled. "One, do NOT call me that. Two, do not interrupt a training session that I'm having with my student."

"But Tsunade-_sama_, Sakura's obviously hurt," Naruto cried. Sakura realized he was closer now, and she felt Sasuke coming up behind him with someone – shit. Itachi was with them. Now, she was too focused on berating herself for letting him see her so weak. She must look like a fool now.

Resolved, she pushed herself up with all the strength she had left to face the four of them. Naruto was obviously concerned, Sasuke held a glimmer of worry in his eye, and Itachi was staring at her so intensely, Sakura felt the need to shrink rise within her.

"Sakura, stay down," Tsunade ordered.

"No," Sakura bit out through clenched teeth. The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth, and she held back the urge to vomit. "I want to try one more time."

"Don't be annoying," Sasuke hissed, leaning down towards her now. Sakura knew it was the closest thing he would ever say to show his worry, so she just grinned at him through red teeth.

"I'm fine. I want to try again," she replied resolutely.

Now, Tsunade was leaning down towards her. "Sakura, you have surpassed every expectation I had of you today. No other medic or shinobi would have lasted ten minutes, and you managed to force your body into working for an hour. Naruto and Sasuke are going to take you to the hospital now to recover. I need you to get better because I'm sending you on a special mission in one week. Do you understand?"

Sakura's face looked far from pleased, but she nodded her head lightly. Sasuke grabbed her roughly by her elbow, and placed her unceremoniously onto Naruto's waiting back. "Stop manhandling me!" she hissed.

"Stop being annoying. I warned you about this last night," Sasuke replied coolly as the three made their way from the training ground to the hospital. Tsunade turned and looked at Itachi, who was staring at the back of a certain pink-haired kunoichi, worry etched and hidden deep within his features.

X

Itachi had been walking towards the training grounds silently, book in hand, in order to escape his father. He knew it wouldn't be long before Fugaku caught up with him concerning the many issues Itachi had to deal with as clan heir. Hopefully, he could find a quiet place in the forest to read until his next mission came up and he could avoid the confrontation altogether. He knew he had a mission beginning in one weeks' time, but he was hoping that something shorter would crop up before then, allowing him to leave town for a day or two.

Fugaku had been harassing him more and more lately and that was why Itachi felt the need to move out. At first, Fugaku and the elders had denied him permission, but then he resolutely decided he would go anyway, and he would take his bloodline with him, so they relented. Mikoto was sad that her son was leaving, but she understood what Itachi was going through as clan heir. Although his mother never said a word against the Uchiha clan or his father in public, Itachi was sure she felt a great deal of unease at the pressure the clan was putting on her sons. So, she gave her blessing through prideful, yet sorrowful, tears.

Shisui was the first to want to join him, and then Sasuke determinedly stated he would be moving out as well. So, together with some help from the Uchiha clan, they purchased a three bedroom house right outside of the compound. It would give them more freedom but not much.

Fugaku had made that very clear by the way he was still hounding his sons about clan matters on a daily basis. The rants had become more than Itachi could take, so he fled. He wasn't too proud or past admitting it because he had left the house the second he could that morning. As he walked past training ground three, he caught sight of something from his peripheral vision. Just for a moment, and then it was gone, but he was sure he saw it – a flicker of orange. Expanding his senses, he felt Sasuke and Naruto hiding in the trees.

What would they be doing there?

As he felt out further, he realized exactly what they were doing. A surge of familiar chakra was emitted from the training ground. It was frantic and dying which made Itachi frown a bit. Why was Haruno Sakura so upset? What did her training with the Godaime entail that it would completely deplete her of chakra and make her this distressed? Itachi had to know, so he masked his chakra and stalked up behind his brother and the animated blond as they sat in a tree not too far from where Sakura and Tsunade were training.

Well, he wasn't sure if what he saw would constitute as training, but he had very little ideas of what went into medic training. All ANBU were made to go through a medic practical, but it wasn't difficult. In fact, the training was just enough to heal any minor wounds, place bandages, and do some basic stitches if the need arose. That was why most ANBU teams were assigned an ANBU field medic when they went on dangerous missions.

Sakura was on her hands and knees, coughing loudly, and blood was dribbling in a relatively steady flow from her mouth. Another surge of chakra erupted from her and she cried out again, and Itachi noticed her arms almost gave way. It wouldn't be long before she fell in complete exhaustion.

Sasuke and Naruto seemed riveted by the scene, and either ignored him, or didn't realize that he was there. "You need to stop stalking her," Itachi intoned quietly, and their reaction told him that it was the latter. Naruto and Sasuke both jumped and turned quickly to see him, but they seemed equally confused at the lack of amused smirk on his face. Itachi's sights were trained on Sakura as she pushed another blast of chakra from her.

"What're you doing here, aniki?" Sasuke asked coldly, turning back to watch Sakura.

"Hiding from Otou-san," Itachi replied unashamedly.

Sasuke visibly blanched. Although the younger heir didn't get the speeches as much as Itachi, he was still under heavy fire from his father. "Understood," he mumbled back. The concern in his voice was unmistakable.

All three of them stared as Sakura tried again, and for the last time, to push chakra into her arms. This time, she fell forward from the exhaustion. "Sakura-chan!" Naruto wailed next to Itachi and hopped from the trees, sprinting towards his teammate.

"Dobe," Sasuke hissed, jumping from his place as well. He turned to Itachi with an eyebrow raised as if asking 'Well, are you coming?'

Itachi followed silently behind them, putting back on his impassive mask. When Sakura had pulled herself up, demanding that she try one more time, Itachi had been completely floored. He watched her so intently, and she met his gaze with equal fervor, that he was sure they were communicating in some quiet way. Luckily, she had conceded when she had discovered she was going on a mission, but only then. How could she be so foolish? Was she trying to kill herself by pushing herself so hard? He supposed it was just her nature to do so.

As Team Seven left, Naruto carrying Sakura on his back, Itachi continued to watch the medic closely. His eyes searched her, making sure she was still breathing at an acceptable rate. Tsunade was staring at him, assessing him as he stared at her student and surrogate daughter, but he didn't care much. His concern was only for Sakura at the moment. Then, he felt something akin to annoyance at the hokage beside him.

"What was the purpose of the exercise?" he asked coolly.

"I collapsed her chakra pathways. I wanted to see if she could restore them without using her hands since it could happen in the field," Tsunade replied.

Itachi's frown deepened. "It is impossible to do that without using an external force. Most of the time, if I'm not mistaken, it has to be done by someone else."

Tsunade smirked. "I know. But Sakura has beaten the impossible hundreds of times. If she can figure out a way to do it, as I'm sure she can, then she could save hundreds of lives."

"You cannot solve the puzzle?" he asked with no mal-intent. "She is your student."

"Tch," the hokage replied. "She's much smarter than me, and if I know Sakura, which I do, she'll be working on this relentlessly until she figures out how to do it."

With that, the conversation was over and they parted ways without further word.

X

Three days had passed since the incident with Sakura, but Itachi hadn't seen her. From what he gathered by listening in on Sasuke's conversations, Sakura had spent a day in the hospital and had been at home resting for two days. Itachi was glad that she was relaxing. Sakura worked just as hard as he did, if not harder, and took very little time off. Her time spent void of missions was filled at the hospital and training. Therefore, he knew she got little time off of work in one form or another.

Currently, Itachi was sitting on a tree branch about a mile outside of Konoha. Fugaku had found his hiding spot in the training grounds, and now he was forced to sneak outside of the walls in order to get any sort of privacy. Luckily, the past two days had been spent moving into the new home with Sasuke and Shisui, so he didn't see much of his father. But the second they were settled, Fugaku had appeared and began pestering them about something or another… not that it mattered.

There was no longer any light, as there had been when he'd set out that afternoon, and Itachi had been forced to give up reading. Now he was contented to sit in the Konoha darkness until he was sure Fugaku would be asleep. It was unlikely that his father would even bother showing up at this hour, but Itachi wasn't going to take the risk. He sighed a little, but then his senses suddenly pricked.

He wasn't alone.

His Sharingan activated automatically as he scanned the trees. There was only a moment for him to catch it, but he did. Red and black cloaks – that only meant one thing: Akatsuki. Slowly, Itachi stood and ran from Konoha. The ninja was looking for him, he was sure, and he didn't want to disturb anyone on the inside of the town.

These 'meetings' had been taking place since he was thirteen, almost ten years now, and he was getting sick of them quickly. After travelling quite some distance, Itachi stopped in a clearing several miles outside of Konoha. The ninja had followed him, he knew, and he just stood in his place as he waited for the ninja to reveal himself.

And reveal himself he did – with a bang.

Itachi saw the clay bird coming at him and he dodged it quickly. This was someone newer, he realized. The first person he had been approached by had been a man named Pein. Then, there was a man named Kisame who had met with him several times. Itachi would never admit it aloud, but he found the missing Mist-nin to be a fun challenge. His visits were intermittent with those of a duo whose names escaped him. After that was Sasori and Orochimaru, to Itachi's displeasure, but Sasori was now dead thanks to Sakura and Orochimaru had abandon the Akatsuki.

The blond haired ninja that stepped from the shadows with an evil grin was new, at least to Itachi. With an impassive face, Itachi studied the man, recognizing he had heard of him. This was Deidara – Sasori's partner after Orochimaru defected. His specialty was explosions that he created using clay. The information poured into Itachi's head as he remembered the description he had received from Hatake. The explosion-nin focused on aerial and long distance techniques. His weakness lay in taijutsu and genjutsu.

Itachi felt the urge to grin. Both of these things were his specialty. For now, though, he would hear the ninja out. The Akatsuki had come after him a few times for different reasons. Kisame, the missing Mist-nin, had asked him to defect from Konoha and join the Akatsuki. Once he had tried to force Itachi into it, but it hadn't ended well for Kisame. The man was trapped in a genjutsu for several days before one of his teammates found him and released him. For some inexplicable reason, Itachi couldn't find it within him to take Kisame hostage. Others asked him for information about Konoha, which he would never give.

Recently, though, they wanted something else – something Itachi had.

"Give me the ring, yeah."

"You have forgotten to introduce yourself," Itachi replied carefully. When Orochimaru had attacked Sasuke in the forest of death, Itachi had managed to get ahold of the ring he used in the Akatsuki. Since then, the group had been after him to retrieve the ring, but had been unsuccessful thus far, not that they would ever find it anyway.

"You know who I am, yeah. It was written all over your face when you saw me," he retorted confidently. "Now just give me the ring so I don't have to blow you up…although I want to."

Itachi raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't respond. His lack of conversation seemed to anger the blond and a flurry of white spiders erupted from the red and black cloak. Itachi dodged, throwing an array of senbon at them in order to diffuse them. For the most part, it worked. The ones that did detonate weren't close enough to Itachi for it to harm him. The opportunity to attack presented itself, so Itachi unsheathed his katana and jumped towards Deidara.

The blond dodged easily as he attempted to keep his distance between himself and Itachi. The information given to him by Team Seven had been accurate, he realized, if Deidara was fighting this hard to stay away from him. Itachi pushed more chakra into his feet as he increased his speed. Deidara's eyes widened as he too increased his speed to avoid the attacks. Itachi was on the offensive completely, but he had to halt the attack when another array of spiders began scampering out of Deidara's cloak and onto the katana.

Itachi made a few hand seals and allowed lightning chakra to erupt from his hands, which wasn't very comfortable so close to a katana and forced the lightning up the blade. Although painful, it was effective as the spiders died out and fell to the ground. Sighing slightly, Itachi realized that Deidara had taken to a large clay bird and was now hovering over the clearing with a smirk on his face.

The bird was flying at Itachi at such speeds that the Uchiha found himself surprised by the swiftness. Itachi dodged, barely, but escaped any harm. The next time the bird rounded, he was ready for it. His katana sliced through one of the wings as the bird flung towards him. The explosion-nin screamed several profanities as he hit the ground. Jumping up quickly, he sent out several clay birds towards Itachi.

The katana in his hands seemed to move of its own volition, as if it were an extension of his body, and sliced through one of the birds. However, there were too many for the katana to handle by itself. Itachi also realized that the birds were chakra-honing. They would not relent until he destroyed them.

The six hand signs were completed in a flurry and Itachi whispered, "Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu"

The fireballs emitted were difficult to control, but Itachi managed to direct them towards the clay birds. Satisfied that he had destroyed them all, he turned towards Deidara who was beginning to look rather ragged. Although the battle had been brief, Itachi could tell that Deidara had put quite a bit of chakra into the fight which was why he seemed so tired.

It was time to end this, he decided. Itachi closed his eyes as the tomoe began to swirl. Clearly, Deidara had been warned about this as he tried to glance away, but it was to no avail. He was trapped within the inner realms of Itachi's Tsukuyomi before he understood what was happening.

A soft cry escaped Deidara as he fell to the ground, and Itachi turned around to leave, deciding there was no point in capturing him for the ninja was too weak to pose any real threat to Konoha. Now that Itachi knew the signature, he would be able to track and stop this Deidara before he ever got close to the village to do real harm – if he could even do _real_ harm that is. That's when he sensed it, right by his left ear – the hum of a bird.

Before he could dodge or turn away, the clay bird ignited next to his head with a _BANG_!

* * *

AN: If you haven't read the author's note at the beginning of this chapter, and you want a say in how the story is told, please go back and read it.

I'm sorry if the fight scene with Deidara seemed a little rushed. It was the only scene I had to write late at night and I wanted to finish it for you.

I hope you liked it.

Please review with your questions/opinions/comments/concerns. Have a good weekend, everyone :)


	5. Flower Shop

AN: Here's another chapter.

I'd like to thank all of you for the positive reviews I've gotten so far. Currently, this is my favorite story to write _because_ of you guys. I hope you are all enjoying the story :)

I really like this chapter because you see a whole new side to Sakura. I like to call her momma-Sakura protecting her loved ones. It'll actually be a big part of this story, so let me know what you think of her development in this chapter.

Thank you for reading and lease review! They make the updates come faster.

* * *

**The First Time**

**Chapter 4: Flower Shop**

* * *

"_I swear when I grow up I won't just buy you a rose  
I will buy the flower shop, and you will never be lonely."_

* * *

Konoha's streets were silent. It was the middle of the night, after all. Equally as silent, Uchiha Itachi hopped from rooftop to rooftop with only one destination in mind. Thinking back to the fight, he internally berated himself for being so complacent and foolish. He had underestimated the blast-nin despite the fact that Itachi knew he was Akatsuki. That was a mistake – his confidence was a weakness. This would prove to be a useful reality check for him, though. He would not make the same mistake again. If he hadn't seen the bird just before it detonated, he would probably be dead, or not far from it, by now. Luckily, though, he had seen it. Launching off the ground, he had managed to avoid the brunt of the blast. However, his left arm and lower left hip were now burnt from the blast and he knew he needed to go to the hospital.

Well, not the hospital. The Hokage would be informed if he showed up to the hospital with large burn marks. Since he hadn't been on a mission, he would undoubtedly be questioned as to how and why he got the marks. The Hokage would find out in due time, but he wasn't ready to tell her yet. So, since the hospital was out, he had to go to the next best thing.

That next best thing was his _first_ choice when it came to healing him, anyway.

That next best thing was _not_ in her apartment, he realized.

He landed on her balcony silently and gazed through her bedroom window. Haruno Sakura was not in her bed. Judging by the rumpled blankets, she had been there recently, but she wasn't there now. In fact, he couldn't sense her in her apartment at all. Irritation coursed through him, but he quickly quelled it. He couldn't be upset with her for not being around at his every beck and call. She was not entitled to him. Crimson eyes closed as he expanded his senses, feeling for her chakra signature throughout the village.

There. He pinpointed her location a few blocks east of where he was. She was in another apartment, but that didn't bother him. What bothered him was _whose_ apartment she was in. Jumping from the balcony onto another room, Itachi flew forward towards the apartment complex in question. Only one thought crossed his mind: _Wasn't it inappropriate to spend the night at your former teacher's house?_

Only a few moments later, he landed outside of the complex. He did not know Hatake Kakashi well enough to go crawling through his window. Additionally, Kakashi lived with Shiranui Genma, and Sakura was inside the apartment. Jumping through another shinobi's window would only end in Itachi being attacked before questioned. Slowly, he made his way up the stairs to the apartment that he knew Sakura was in.

_Knock. Knock. Knock. _

Sakura groaned. It was the middle of the night? Who would show up at Kakashi's apartment in the middle of the night? Oh, probably one of Genma's girlfriends, she realized.

_Knock. Knock. Knock. _

Sakura turned around in Kakashi's bed and buried her face into the pillows. Kakashi was sleeping on the couch. Why didn't he answer the damn door?

_Knock. Knock. Knock. _

Itachi was getting annoyed. Three jounin level shinobi in one apartment and not one of them could get up to answer the door. Next time he was crawling through the window. When he raised his right arm to knock one last time, the door swung open to reveal a very disgruntled looking copy-nin wearing nothing but flannel pants and a mask.

"Uchiha-san?" he questioned.

"Hatake-san," Itachi drawled.

"What're you doing here? Last I checked, none of us were ANBU so you wouldn't be coming with a mission for us, would you?" he asked, seemingly perking up a bit.

"I require Haruno Sakura," Itachi replied coolly. The burns on his arms were starting to get to him. "I sense her within the apartment."

Kakashi's gaze darkened a bit. Oh, he knew. He knew that the elder Uchiha held some form of torch for his favorite student, and he didn't like it. "Why?" he asked flatly. Itachi held up his arm, allowing the cloak he had been wearing to slip and reveal his charred arm. Kakashi looked at it thoughtfully before going to close the door on his face. "There is a hospital down the street."

"And you go to the hospital when you're injured?" Itachi retorted before the door could close. It worked because Kakashi opened the door. This time challenge glinted in his dark eye. "If I'm not mistaken Hatake-san, you haven't spent the night in the hospital once since Sakura has become a medic."

Kakashi scoffed. He was about to retort when a soft, feminine voice echoed from behind him. "Who is it Kakashi-sensei?" Itachi saw Kakashi wince, but he stepped aside with a tentative movement nonetheless. "Itachi?" Sakura asked when she recognized the person standing on the other side of the door. _Holy shit_. She thought to herself. What was he doing here? Sakura began to think about herself subconsciously. Her hair was a mess and she wasn't wearing something that would be deemed appropriate to be in the room with two single men. Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto were one thing, but she did_ not_ want Uchiha Itachi to see her in her current attire.

Itachi regarded her silently for a moment. To say Sakura looked anything less than adorable would be an insult. She was smoothing her sleep-ruffled pink locks with one hand and rubbing her tired emerald eyes with another. She wore nothing but an oversized orange shirt that fell to her mid-thigh, accentuating her long, toned legs. Itachi kept his gaze on her face, though, for he knew Kakashi was staring at him with a critical eye. "Sakura," Itachi greeted.

"What're you doing here…is Sasuke okay…your mom, is she alright?" Sakura asked, her eyes suddenly brightening with worry.

"My mother and Sasuke are both well," Itachi replied coolly.

"Then why're you here at…" she looked at the clock, "Two in the morning?" Once again, Itachi held up his burned arm. Sakura looked at the burns for just a moment before her eyes went circular, as big as plates, "OH MY GOD WHAT HAPPENED?"

"Hn." Sakura gave him an exasperated look but ushered him into the apartment anyway, knowing that there was no point in trying to figure out the story right now. Having Sasuke as a teammate had its advantages, and she now could decipher what the Uchiha men were saying with their minimalistic grunts. That particular grunt meant 'I'm not going to tell you.' He would tell her if he wanted her or know or when he was ready.

Kakashi audibly sighed since there was no point in fighting with her over the Uchiha coming into the apartment. Sakura would do what Sakura wanted to do, and there was no point in trying to convince her otherwise. "I'm going back to bed," he drawled as he found his place on the couch while Sakura led Itachi into his bedroom. "Oh and Sakura," he said. She turned to look back at him. "Put pants on."

Sakura blushed but nodded. Slipping into the bathroom, she found a pair of Genma's pajama pants and slipped them on, knowing he wouldn't mind. Over the years, she and Genma had devolved a fun, flirtatious friendship that she enjoyed. It was hard not to since he was Kakashi's roommate and Sakura was _always_ here. However, she knew that the senbon master would defend her just as ferociously as Sasuke, Naruto, or Kakashi would. Sakura exited the bathroom to find Itachi waiting for her, leaning against the wall on the other side of the hallway.

"Bedroom," she whispered. With quick steps, she led Itachi into Kakashi's bedroom. It was small – smaller than her room in her apartment – but she spent so much time here that it was practically another home for her anyway. Itachi stood a little stiffly in the middle of the room, seemingly unaware of what to do. Sakura plopped onto the bed where she had previously been sitting and motioned for him to come over. "Robe and shirt, off, now please."

Itachi quirked a brow, Sakura scoffed, but he did as he was told and sat down next to her. The damage was worse than he'd thought which made Sakura gasp. Oozing flesh and blood bubbled to the surface of his once smooth skin that ran from the back of his ribs to above his navel. The area underneath his elbow on his left arm was also affected. Healing chakra seeped into the wound from Sakura's tender hands while Itachi just watched her work.

It was a magnificent sight. Eyes narrowed in concentration, upper teeth biting bottom lip, and a furrowed brow told anyone looking that this woman was in the middle of something delicate, and she was going to give it all of her attention. Itachi didn't speak. He didn't want to bother her when she looked so calm and in her own mind at that moment. Surely, his intrusion would be unwelcomed judging by how concentrated her look was. As her hands moved slowly up and down his arms, the flesh that had once itched and burned began to feel cool. Pale pink skin replaced what was charred. After a few minutes, the skin was back to normal allowing Sakura to sit back and admire her work.

"Done," she announced. Itachi didn't even look at his skin, knowing it would be completely healed, as he slipped his shirt back on.

"Thank you."

"Sure," she replied, her eyes brightening. They were still sitting on the bed – she was leaning against the wall while he sat at the corner. "Anytime!"

"May I ask you a question?" Itachi asked as he stood to leave.

"May I ask you a question in return?" Sakura retorted quickly, a challenging glint forming in her eye.

"As long as you do not inquire as to where I got my injury tonight, then yes," Itachi replied smoothly.

Sakura's brow furrowed and Itachi knew that he had hit dead-on what Sakura was going to ask. "Very well, I have a questioned, but you can ask first," she replied.

"Why are you here?" he asked blandly. Why Sakura sleeping in Kakashi's apartment bothered him so much, he didn't know. But it did, and he wanted answers.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura asked, irritation rising in her voice.

"Why are you sleeping here when you have a perfectly suitable apartment of your own?" Itachi expanded.

Sakura smiled a bit, "Because Kakashi is a better at cuddling than Sasuke and Naruto."

Itachi let her words sink in, not quite understanding them. "Care to expand?" he inquired.

"Well you see, Sasuke is emotionally stinted and doesn't like physical contact. He could be the best shinobi in the world, but his skills at cuddling are mediocre at best," Sakura began, and Itachi inwardly flinched in annoyance. This was not what he meant and she knew that – she was just answering sarcastically. Additionally, he had no desire to hear about his younger brother's 'cuddling' skills. Sakura continued. "And Naruto is super good at cuddling, but you can't fall asleep next to him or else you'll get kicked in the face and he steals the blankets. Kakashi is sort of the mix between the two, I guess."

"That was not the purpose of my question," he deadpanned.

Sakura's eyes glinted mischievously with the answer of 'I know, I was just messing with you.' "My turn!" she called out. Itachi waited for her question, and was quite surprised when it came. "What's your favorite kind of alcoholic beverage?"

This time, both Itachi's brows raised and his eyes widened for just a moment in surprise. This had not been the anticipated direction of the conversation, and it was irking Itachi. His question had not been answered to his satisfaction, and now there was no way for him to really get out of answering this particular question. "Why do you ask?"

"Tsk, tsk. You already asked your question, and you got an answer. Now it's time for you to answer mine!" Sakura chided playfully.

"I like rum," he replied smoothly, still not seeing a point to the question. "Rum and coke."

Sakura merely smiled happily at him. "It's noted," she said happily. "Goodnight Itachi."

"Goodnight, Sakura," he replied warily, stepping out of the window and into the Konoha night.

Sakura watched him go fondly. The door to Kakashi's room was open, and she wasn't surprised to see her sensei standing there the moment Itachi had left. "How'd he hurt his arm?" Kakashi asked blandly, walking over to the bed and taking a seat next to Sakura.

"He wouldn't say," she replied, not taking her eyes off the window.

"You've got it bad, don't you?" Kakashi asked, his voice sounding uncharacteristically strained. Sakura was like his daughter, and he did not like 'boys' (because Itachi could hardly be called a _boy_, which almost made it worse for Kakashi – Uchiha Itachi was a _man_ who was showing affections for _his_ little girl) coming to the house at all hours of the night garnering for her attention.

Her head spun towards his, shock evident in her eyes but then softening into affection. "I supposed I do," she replied as she crawled under the covers, basking in the scent of Kakashi's bed as she nuzzled her head into the pillow. There was no way to describe Kakashi's smell – it was purely masculine, but she loved it because it made her feel so safe.

Kakashi laid down next to her, except he stayed above the covers, and pulled her head onto his chest. "He's not good enough for you," he said seriously.

Sakura snorted. "Who is then?"

"No one. You are going to be my single, perfect little daughter until…forever," was his answer in an all-too-serious tone. Sakura just nestled her face further into his chest, her arm wrapping around his waist tightly. He asked affectionately, "Need help getting back to sleep?" A nod was his answer. "No nightmares this time?"

"No nightmares," she agreed groggily as sleep was already beginning to take her Kakashi stayed with Sakura until she was asleep, her breathing even and calm, and then slipped out of the bed so he could go back to sleep on the couch.

X

It was Saturday morning. Why was he here on his only day off? The Hokage had (repeatedly) chastised him for not taking time off and working himself to exhaustion. So, when he wasn't on a mission, Saturdays were his days off. Yet here he was, in the Hokage's office, with his ANBU team, waiting for a mission briefing. It wouldn't bother him, but the mission wasn't set to begin until Wednesday. Surely, this could wait until Monday morning, right?

According to a glaring pair of honey-colored eyes, wrong. "We're just waiting for the fourth member of your team," she announced. "But I need to discuss something with you first."

Itachi looked around the room almost spitefully. A fourth member would only complicate things – especially since he had not been informed. Was he not in charge of all ANBU? So he should know if another member of his unit was needed so he could allocate assignments if necessary. Shiranui Genma stood to his left and Shisui was to his right. Normally, it would be Aburame Shino who would be with them instead of Shisui, but the entire Aburame clan was out of Konoha for some sort of spiritual getaway with their bugs. All inquiries stopped there.

"Fourth member?" Shisui echoed. None of them were in their ANBU regalia since their mission didn't begin for another few days, and they were just present for the briefing.

"Yes this particular mission will require an individual with a particular set of skills," the Hokage replied evenly, her eyes not leaving the group of shinobi in front of her. "Although this person is not yet ANBU, I would like to nominate her for the ANBU exams soon. I'm leaving it up to you to assess whether you believe she is ready. I expect all of you to include her performance in your mission reports. Understood?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," was the answer, said by all three in unison. Itachi, for one, was not pleased. This was an S-rank level mission, and not only was the flow of his team being disrupted, but now he had to babysit some kunoichi who wasn't even an ANBU. _Calm down_. He told himself._ You're just on edge because of everything that's been going on with the clan lately. _

Tsunade's eyes seemed to brighten a bit. "You're teammate is here," she said confidently.

Of course, only a moment later: _knock, knock, knock_. "Shishou?" a faint voice called as the door cracked open. It made Itachi turn abruptly and there was Haruno Sakura, peeking her head through the door of the office. Itachi stilled for a moment. She couldn't be the fourth member of their squad, could she? She'd only been a jounin for…five maybe six months now? "Sorry, shishou, I'll come back. Kakashi-sensei told me you had a mission for me but I can wait until you're done."

Itachi turned back, thinking that it was just a mistake, when Tsunade's voice stopped Sakura. "No, Sakura, please come in. You have a mission."

Sakura looked confused but walked into the room with tentative footsteps. She fell in line right next to Genma. Genma seemed to be in disbelief. "Sakura-chan is the fourth member of our squad?"

"Yes."

Sakura gasped. "Shishou they are _ANBU_."

"I know that." She bit back instantly, making Sakura wince. Then, Tsunade's eyes softened as she sighed. "I suppose this is as good of a time to tell you as any. Sakura, I'm nominating you for the ANBU exams to be held at the end of August." The muscles in Sakura's jaw didn't seem to be working as her mouth dropped open in surprise. "Even if I wasn't planning on having you take the exams, you would be assigned to this mission. You have a certain set of skills that will be incredibly valuable for this particular mission, and they will need your help. Also, your teammates will observe you and report on your performance."

"ANBU exams?" Sakura echoed. "But what about-"

"Naruto and Sasuke will take the exams in their own time. You're ready for them, and they are not," Tsunade interrupted. This effectively shut Sakura up for the time being. "Don't worry, Sakura, you'll still take missions with Team Seven."

Itachi watched her through the corner of his eye carefully. So the kunoichi was ready for ANBU, but his foolish little brother was not? To be honest, that was hardly surprising. While Sasuke may be more skilled a fighter than Sakura, the kunoichi of Team 7 was definitely tactically inclined and happened to be more rounded in terms of skill than the other two. Plus, her medic abilities were needed badly. The medical kunoichi of ANBU were subpar at best (of course, according to Itachi, there were very few talented shinobi compared to himself – so these 'subpar' medics were actually very talented) and had only been admitted into ANBU because they were medic-nin. Sakura was easily stronger than them.

"So here's your mission briefing," Tsunade interrupted his internal reverie by throwing them each a scroll. "It is an S-rank mass-assassination. There is a deadly gang of rogue-nin and samurai causing major problems to the west – drugs, prostitution, weapons, murder. You name it, they've done it. They have their base in a large trade city just east of the Wind-Fire border. They are causing problems for the Kazekage as well, and he wants them dead. However, since their operation is based in Fire Country, we are the ones who will be dealing with them. There are thirty-eight to fifty members that will be present at a large, formal party on Thursday night. You four will infiltrate the party, kill the gang members, and then destroy the mansion."

"If you don't mind me asking, Hokage-sama, why do we need Sakura-chan?" Genma asked with a strained tone to his voice. Itachi had been thinking the same thing. Not that he minded Sakura coming – in fact he was looking forward to spending some time with her without Hatake, his brother, and the kyuubi around – but he failed to see how they required her 'specific skills.' Sakura, however, did not seem pleased by the question and fixed Genma with a contemptuous stare. "Not that I'm saying she can't do it! It's just…you know…she's like…my baby girl…"

He looked at Itachi since he clearly was uncomfortable expressing such emotion in front of his ANBU captain. Tsunade answered first. "I'll start with the obvious. The leader of this gang will be difficult to get near, but Sakura will have a much easier time getting his defenses down seeing as she is a woman and trained in seducing men (Itachi almost flinched but managed to stop himself). Unless one of you would like to go in disguised as a woman?"

"No!" Shisui yelled, slightly panicked.

Tsunade's face was nothing short of amused. "That's what I thought. Now, to the not-so-obvious – in order to kill forty or fifty rogue ninja, you will need to be discrete for at least the first half of them. You do not want to face off with ten to one odds, ne? Now, Sakura, how many ways can you kill with medical jutsu without touching your victim."

"Sixty-four," Sakura replied without missing a beat.

"Yes, that's what I thought," Tsunade replied smugly. "Itachi and Sakura are the two best stealth killers I have," she continued. Sakura's eyes widened. Her shishou was comparing her to Uchiha Itachi? Even if it was just in one respect, it boggled Sakura's mind. "Also, you are to destroy the mansion once you have eliminated the shinobi. Sakura, how many hits would it take for you to destroy…say the Hokage Memorial Mountain?"

Sakura's gaze went thoughtful for a moment as she looked out the window towards the mountain. "I'd say three…maybe four. No more than five."

Tsunade smiled once again as Shisui's mouth dropped in surprise and Genma visibly paled. Her thoughtful glare was pointed at Genma, but she gave a look to Itachi and Shisui as well. "Are you still questioning her effectiveness on this mission? If anything, you four are her glorified body guards while she does most of the work."

Shisui laughed, Genma gave an uncomfortable chuckle, but Itachi fixed a withering stare in the general direction of the Hokage. He was _not_ a body guard. He was an ANBU captain and the one in charge of this mission. "Is that all, Hokage-sama?" he asked, trying to keep calm.

"Yes, that's it. You leave on Wednesday, the party is Friday night, and you must be back here by Saturday afternoon," the Hokage stated.

"That's cutting it a little close," Genma remarked.

"Fine, you three can stay as long as you like, but Sakura needs to be back here by Saturday afternoon. I don't know how, but Yamanaka Ino found out about this mission, and she barged into my office demanding to know why I would send Sakura on a mission this week of all weeks. So, in order to save myself from a major headache, I agreed that she would be back by Saturday afternoon," Tsunade explained with an irritated tone.

"Oh, that's right. Saturday is Sakura-chan's birthday, isn't it?" Genma remembered. Itachi held his surprise. He had never been aware of her birthday before. "Eighteen, right, Sakura-chan? I suppose Ino-chan is planning on throwing you a big party."

Sakura turned pink from embarrassment. "That seems to be the plan," she mumbled.

"Alright, you're all dismissed," Tsunade grumbled, her hand going for her sake drawer.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," they chorused.

"So I'll see you three later tonight, ne?" Sakura asked happily, fixing a look on the three.

"Tonight?" Itachi asked quizzically. He had not been informed of any meeting that would take place that night.

"Yes, we will see you tonight, Sakura-chan!" Shisui called out as he headed for the door. Sakura went for the window – her favorite method of escape due to the habits of a certain copy-nin. Waving goodbye, she jumped from the window onto the street below. As she left, she was sure she heard Itachi say: 'Shisui, what's going on tonight?'

X

Itachi had remained confused for the rest of the day, but he knew to be wary of whatever Shisui had planned for that night. In response, he found a secluded location in the forests of the fourth training ground to star gaze and read. There was a small cliff inside the grounds where he would occasionally play shogi with Nara Shikamaru. Usually he didn't associate with his brother's friends, unless it was Sakura…or something to do with work, but he found the tactician to be a formidable opponent. Currently, Itachi could only win about sixty-seven percent of the matches he played with the Nara boy.

Currently, though, he was relaxing with his hands cradling his head, staring at the stars. It was much better than being at the Uchiha compound where he would surely be pounced on by his father or roped into doing something ridiculous with Shisui.

_Snap_.

Itachi's head shot up as he looked around the clearing, hand automatically going for a kunai. "Whoa, Itachi, it's just me," he heard the voice coming from the forest. A slightly-toasted Sakura Haruno walked (stumbled) into the clearing, a small smirk plastered on her face.

"Sakura."

"Hello Itachi," she chirped, walking up next to him, and plopping herself down. Itachi noticed her attire – a loose fitting green shirt that hugged her body in all the right places, a black skirt that showed off her legs but was still modest, and civilian sandals. She looked beautiful – as if she were about to go out with her friends. "I've come to retrieve you!" she announced, the scent of sake emanating from her mouth.

"Retrieve me?" he inquired tentatively.

"Yes," Sakura replied. "I was at your house warming party-"

"House warming party?"

"Stop repeating everything I say," she retorted with a giggle. "Yes, I do believe Shisui and Sasuke were too afraid to tell you that they were throwing a little party to celebrate getting a house together. I kind of figured this afternoon when you didn't seem to realize you'd be seeing me tonight."

"Hn." Itachi inwardly cringed in frustration. That was just _so_ Shisui. Sasuke may have agreed to it, but he wouldn't have been the one to propose the idea. Where was he supposed to sleep now? Shisui had a bad habit of partying until the early hours of the morning, and Sasuke was no better. Itachi was _not_ a social person, and he had no desire to go back to the house until all the party goers were out.

Sakura sighed, understanding what the 'hn' meant. It meant '_I don't want to go_.' "C'mon, Itachi. Or should I say taichou?" she asked playfully.

"Hn." '_No_'

"They told me to use force if necessary," she replied playfully.

"Hn." '_I'd like to see you try_.' He snorted.

He was looking at her – that was his mistake. Emotion swam beneath her green eyes that looked like something akin to disappointment, her bottom lip jut out a little, and her brow furrowed. How was he supposed to say no to that?

"Hn." _'Fine.'_

His distaste for the situation quickly flew out the window when a smile that could make the most emotionally stinted person glow coated itself onto Sakura's face. Pride rose within him because _he'd_ been the one to place that expression on her face; he abruptly grabbed her wrist and they were gone in a swirl of black crow feathers.

Landing just outside the house, Itachi could tell this was a little more than a 'get together' of friends. Loud music blasted from the house, and many (drunken) voices could be heard inside. Sakura landed unstably next to him, and he grabbed her on her forearm instinctively to stabilize her.

"Stupid Uchiha men and transporting me like I'm some sort of rag doll," she muttered under her breath as she stomped with an amused Itachi up to the house. Opening the door, she announced, loudly, "I found him!"

The Rookie Nine (sans Shino Aburame who was with his bugs), Sai, Yamato, Team Gai, Gai himself, Kakashi, Genma, Shisui, Inuzuka Hana, about twelve Uchiha family members ranging in age seventeen to twenty-six, and another ten ANBU members (mostly the captains) were in his house. Many of them looked at him with something akin to shock on their faces – Uchiha Itachi _never_ went to parties unless it was a clan event that he had to go to. Every once in a while, you would find him at the bar with his teammates after a mission, but that was it.

"Sakura," Sasuke practically hissed, running up to them. "Where'd you go? You left me alone with _her_!"

'_Her' _was Uchiha Ayano (AN: if you don't remember her, refer back to chapter 1), who was standing near the door to the kitchen with her two female counterparts. The two other Uchiha females were a year or two older than Sakura and Sasuke, and were fixing Sakura with a hateful gaze. "I told you, Sasuke, I'm not playing that game anymore," Sakura replied resolutely. "You told me I couldn't beat the living hell out of them."

"You can't," he grit out.

"Well, I'm not pretending to be your girlfriend anymore," she replied angrily. "The girl freaking attacked me, Sasuke! Out of respect for you, I didn't kill her. But I'm not dealing with that again."

"Hn." "_Fine, be that way_' and he stalked off.

Itachi watched the scene unfold with a bemused expression. "Ayano attacked you?" he inquired.

"Verbally, and then slapped me. How dare I latch myself onto the Uchiha main family like a leech?" Sakura bit out, grabbing a drink from the table and handing it to Itachi. His eyebrow raised, and she gave a small smile. "Rum and coke."

"Hn." '_Thank you_' He noted that she poured herself a lighter rum and mixed it with lemonade.

"You're welcome," she replied, moving further into the house. She found a comfortable couch to sit on in the living room, and Itachi took a seat next to her languidly. "So, do you really not want me on this mission?"

He was taken aback by the question. As he thought about the answer, he took a few sips of his drink and immediately felt relaxed. "I have no problem with you coming."

Her face seemed to brighten a bit. "I just got the impression-"

"Genma sees you as a daughter – similar to Hatake."

Sakura snorted. "Yeah, Kakashi-sensei is pretty protective over me. But I guess Naruto and Sasuke are as well. I can crush mountains with my bare hands and kill enemy shinobi without touching them, but when it comes to me having a boyfriend, they all freak out like I'm made of glass."

"They care for you," he replied silkily, and slouched in his seat a little more. He was finding this conversation pleasant. If Sakura attended social events, he supposed they weren't so bad.

The conversation continued, and Sakura never left his side. They sat there for almost two hours, enjoying their drinks and conversation. It drifted from her friends, to missions, to shogi (he was surprised to find out that she liked to play – and of course, she challenged him to a match the second she found out he played as well), to medic-jutsu. Itachi had never had that long of a conversation in his life. Although his answers were usually short – either agreeing or disagreeing with a claim or observation Sakura made – he found her company incredibly appealing. But he could feel Kakashi's gaze on the side of his face almost the entire time saying 'I'm watching you, Uchiha Itachi. I know what you're up to.' It didn't bother him – it merely irked him.

Occasionally someone would come and join in on the conversation. Ino spent almost fifteen minutes rattling on about the party she was throwing for Sakura's eighteenth birthday. Shikamaru joined in when the discussion of shogi began. Kiba, Hana, Itachi, and Sakura had an entire conversation about ninja dogs and how they were helpful on the battlefield. Sakura had asked the exuberant Hana about veterinary work, which went on for ten minutes before Hana started slurring her words beyond comprehension. Slowly, the conversation got a little more lax and, for lack of a better word, silly, since almost everyone's state of mind was slowly being lost to alcohol. Sakura's chakra control and constant movement kept her from becoming too inebriated, and Itachi stopped drinking after a few drinks since he wasn't much of a drinker as is. Overall, Itachi decided, the evening wasn't so bad – as long as Sakura was present.

"I'll get us another drink, the last one for the night," Sakura announced as she stood up. Itachi 'hn'd in response, and she gave him one of her best smiles. Sakura, for one, was on cloud nine. She spent the entire night with Itachi, and she found it to be one of the best nights in recent memory. He was a decent (by Uchiha standards) conversationalist, and he seemed interested in talking with her. Very rarely did he disagree with her opinions, but when he did, he was almost always right.

Sakura bounced away from the couch to get the drinks, trying not to seem too happy. If Kakashi saw, he would take measures to stop the interaction between her and Itachi. Sakura was sure of that. Sometimes those men were just too protective of her. However Sakura didn't get very far from Itachi. Suddenly, she stopped dead when she heard a snippet of conversation that was spoken just loud enough for her and Itachi to hear.

"Look at her – she's pathetic. Sasuke dumps her ass so she latches onto Itachi," Ayano muttered.

"Yeah, how desperate can she be?" one of her friends replied.

"Pretty desperate," the third mentioned. "Watch, when Itachi rejects her, she'll go for Shisui." _Keep calm_, she told herself. _They are just petty, jealous, and mediocre. _

"If that doesn't work, then she can have that demon teammate of hers. No one else wanted him anyway – especially his parents. I feel bad that Sasuke-kun ended up on the team with a whore and a bastard reject," Ayano added spitefully.

That's when Sakura lost it. The murderous waves that were rolling off her made the entire room hush quiet as she spun around. Itachi didn't stop her – he was annoyed as well. "That's it!" Sakura screamed. "You three, against me, right now."

Sakura didn't wait for the answer. Spinning around towards the door, she stomped out of the house and into the conveniently located training ground right outside of the house. She whirled around to see that the three smug looking girls, as well as the remaining members of the party (Team Gai, the Rookie 9, Kakashi, Genma, Shisui, and a few other Uchiha and ANBU members) leaking out of the house. This had been a long time coming. The comments about her – oh those didn't bother her. But going after Naruto like that? Psh, these girls were asking for a beating.

"Really, girl, who do you think you are? We are all jounin level and you're challenging us to a match? You may be the Hokage's apprentice, but there's no way you can beat all of us," Ayano snorted.

"I don't care what you say about me," Sakura bit out harshly. Her jade eyes seemed to darken a few shades. "But if you want to insult my teammates, then you will pay," she continued. "And not only will I beat you three, but I'm going to do it without touching you. My feet will never leave this spot. You may use whatever weapons or jutsu you want."

Ayano grunted in amusement. "Very well. It's your downfall."

"I will make this quick. I want to go back to the party," Sakura replied, her voice taking on an eerie calm that Itachi had never heard before. "However, this will be painful for you. I suggest you give up now."

From where he was standing against the wall of the house, Itachi watched in amusement. Kakashi walked up next to him. "Have you ever seen her in a real fight?" he asked, "Outside of sparring?"

"No."

"You're going on a mission with her, yes?" Kakashi asked. Itachi grunted in response. "You should watch her. She's a different person when she's in the field. It seems your cousins have had the same effect on her."

"Hn."

The fight began. And it ended all at once. The three Uchiha girls went to move, but they stopped suddenly. Sakura had made a few hand signs, immobilizing them. Then, she made a few more. The expression on the girls' faces ranged from shocked, to pained, to anger. Their usually pale Uchiha skin began to turn red which made their faces more strained. Veins began to bulge from places on their necks as their bodies grew warmer.

"What did you do?!" Ayano cried out.

Sakura chuckled a soft, sadistic chuckle. "Well, first, I used an altered jutsu that I learned from Shikamaru to stop you from moving. Now, I am raising your body temperature using a medical ninjutsu. Once your body temperature rises above 106 degrees Fahrenheit, which is still a full degree away, your nervous system starts to shut down to prevent brain damage. That way, you'll be nice and alert for what happens next. If I keep raising the temperature past the 107 degree threshold, the enzymes and proteins that control your body will start to denature and will be unable to function properly. This will kill you unless I decide to release the jutsu. Tell me, Ayano, does it hurt?"

"Sakura," Sasuke's voice echoed loud and stern. He had been standing at the front of the house, only a few yards away from her. "That's enough."

Sakura shot him a spiteful glare, but then her hands moved rapidly to release the jutsus. The girls all fell to the ground, gasping for air, as their bodies slowly began to go back to a normal temperature. Sakura sauntered over to them, and whispered so only they could hear, "You should all go home and take a luke-warm shower. You don't want to drop your temperature back too quickly. Next time you wish to insult me or my teammates, think of this because next time Sasuke may not be around to stop me from killing you."

As she stood, she plastered a smile to her face, knowing her point had been made. She walked back towards the group – who were mostly praising her (Ino yelled something along the lines of 'That's right, show those bitches whose queen of the castle!' and Naruto gave her a thankful few words for defending him). To Itachi, it was like watching two different people. Seeing Sakura in the moment like that – so gracefully ready for battle to defend her teammate – made his insides boil in anticipation.

This would be an entertaining mission, he decided.

* * *

AN: I really like Sakura in this chapter. I hope you do too. I know it's a little OOC for her from the anime/manga, but I think it's a little realistic for the Sakura I've created. Tell me what you think?


	6. Our Time

AN: Another update, so soon? Well, it's all because of you guys, really. The more you review, the more inspired I am to write. So review, please! It makes this all worth it because it shows that you're reading the story. I really appreciate them.

I know this chapter is a little shorter than you're all used to, but I wrote it relatively quickly. Additionally, this is a transition chapter, so I had to stop where I did in order for everything to flow and make sense. The mission is underway. The next two chapters, after this, are going to be the mission. This, however, is important. It just isn't as action filled as I'd like it to be. In order to make up for it, I've added some Itachi/Sakura fluff at the end.

Enjoy and review!

Thank you soooooo much!

* * *

**The First Time**

**Chapter 5: Our Time**

* * *

_"For even if the sun stops waking up over the fields  
I will not leave, I will not leave 'til it's our time."_

* * *

There are some smells that one just shouldn't expect find in a bachelor pad of three young, single men. Some of these smells include: broiled fish, steamed rice, tamagoyaki, and various forms of tsukemono. One would especially not expect to smell these delicious aromas in a bachelor pad of three young, single men at 5 o'clock on a Wednesday morning. Nevertheless, this is what Uchiha Itachi awoke to on the morning of his ANBU mission. Not concerning himself with the smells for the moment, Itachi pulled himself out of bed and quickly dressed for the mission in his standard-issue ANBU uniform. He had packed his bag the night before, so preparations for the missions were minimal.

Once he had exited his bedroom, he was confronted with the full force of the smell of the breakfast foods that were emanating from downstairs. Slowly, the Uchiha made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen, wondering who could be cooking. Surely, it was neither Shisui or Sasuke. While both of his roommates were decent cooks, they were far from the caliber of cooking that was taking place in the kitchen. Perhaps his mother? No, she would not come over and cook randomly and unannounced. As he moved down the hall, he noted that Sasuke's door was open but the shower was going, so he was probably in the bathroom. Itachi walked down the stairs to where Shisui's room was located. Shisui's door was closed and the light was off – indicating he was still asleep. So who was cooking breakfast this early in the morning? Finally, Itachi rounded the corner and into the kitchen where he was confronted with a shock of pink standing in front of the stove.

She was wearing long, tight, black pants that were tucked into her ninja boots and a tightly fitted black shirt on top – similar to the sleeveless shirts that Kakashi wore. Her pink locks cascaded down her back, and Itachi mused as to when her hair had grown back out to its longer length. Undoubtedly, she would be cutting it again soon – it was a cycle the kunoichi seemed to have. Her jounin vest lay in the corner of the room along with her backpack and medical pouches.

Itachi took a few moments to drink in the sight – Haruno Sakura, in his kitchen at five in the morning, making breakfast and preparing for the day. The domesticity of the scene was enough to make his lips tug into a smirk for a moment before he plastered back his stoic façade. Suddenly, he pictured a large Uchiha fan emblazoned on the back of her shirt, but he quickly shook the thoughts away. He was about to go on a mission with the girl – he needed to quell the attraction for the next few days although he knew that would be nearly impossible – especially when she was wearing such tight-fitting clothes that he could make out every contour of her finely-tuned body.

He cleared his throat to announce his presence. "Sakura?" he questioned in a bemused voice, trying to hide his discomfort of his previous thoughts. Said girl turned towards him and beamed a hundred-watt smile that was much too bright for such an early hour. She turned back to the stove with a simple 'Morning Itachi'. His eyebrow ticked slightly in confusion. Finally, he began to ask, "What're you-?"

"Making breakfast," she interrupted matter-of-factly, as if it were the most obvious and natural thing in the entire world. When she turned back to him and saw that the answer didn't quite satisfy him, she elaborated, "I spent the night last night."

"Aa."

"It seemed easier for you, Shisui, and me to leave together," she continued as she began to dish steamed rice into four separate bowls. "We have to stop by the hospital for a few things that are critical to the mission."

"Hn." He'd remembered her mentioning that she was developing a few things for the mission in her lab at the hospital. He had, on previous missions, both possessed and witnessed the power of several of Sakura's creations over the years for special op missions such as this. Her, her best friend (the blonde one, Itachi never bothered to remember her name), and the female kunoichi of Team Gai (also never bothered to remember her name) all worked in the Special Weaponry and Poisoning Department – the SWPD, they called it – in the basement of Konoha's hospital. Sakura and her friends had founded the department themselves.

Itachi then began to ponder, as he took a seat at the table where Sakura was still serving breakfast, as to when Sakura found time for all of the projects she undertook. She was a full-time medic-nin for Team Seven, she took solo missions as well as missions with other teams, she worked at the hospital part-time (though Itachi knew her role at the hospital was much closer to full-time), and she was now in charge of the SWPD, which also required a great deal of attention. On top of that, she seemed to be quite the social butterfly – always making time to train, eat, and party with her friends. Did she have some sort of magical power that allowed her to be several places at once?

"I'll go wake Shisui," Sakura announced, practically prancing to the door. "Sasuke will be done in the shower soon."

However, Itachi stood up and cleared his throat. "No," he announced. The girl turned to look at him, her face puzzled. "Shisui sometimes forgoes clothing when he sleeps at home," he announced, moving past Sakura to wake Shisui himself. Sakura's face turned an alarming shade of red, and the ends of Itachi's lips tugged upward in amusement, "I will wake him."

"O-o-oh. Oh-kay," she replied, stammering a bit and readily moving back into the kitchen.

After some subtle threats a few loud knocks on the door, Shisui emerged from his room in matching ANBU regalia, a large grin plastered on his face. "Morning Itachi!" he yelled happily. Itachi's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. How could anybody be so damn excited this early in the morning?

"Will you shut up?" a gruff voice came from the stairs. Sasuke walked down mechanically. His black shirt and white shorts were still wrinkled, as he hadn't righted himself for the day yet, and he was towel-drying his spikey hair. "It's not even five thirty in the damned morning and you're yelling louder than the dobe."

"Tch don't compare me to that loud-mouthed brat," Shisui scoffed.

A feminine, yet playfully angry voice wafted from the kitchen to the living room, where they were currently standing, "I know you're not insulting my team, Uchiha…I mean oldest-Uchiha," Sakura yelled. "You remember the last time someone insulted my team?"

Shisui blanched at the memory of their three Uchiha cousins being internally boiled a few days prior. "Of course not, Cupcake," he called back and skipped merrily into the kitchen – towards the delectable scent of breakfast.

"Cupcake?" Sakura asked as the three men entered the room.

"My new nick-name for you," Shisui explained merrily as he clasped his arms around her waist from behind – so his front was to her back – and peppered her cheeks with an assault of butterfly kisses.

Sakura's tinkling giggle filled the room in response to his affectionate gesture. "Why cupcake?" she asked after Shisui pulled himself off of her and took his seat at the table, where Itachi and Sasuke were already sitting and had begun eating their breakfast. The eldest of the Uchiha didn't miss the deadly, possessive glares from both of his younger cousins, so he sent them a smirk that just earned him more intense gazes.

"Your hair reminds me of frosting," he replied happily.

Sakura scoffed playfully as she took her seat at the table. The four ate in a companionable silence – the only interjections being complements on her cooking. Sakura beamed. She felt like she could do this forever. There was something so absolutely right about being here with the three Uchiha that she couldn't explain. She'd like to think it was her deep friendship with Sasuke that made her feel so at home, but she knew that she was just kidding herself. As she thought, she stole a glance at the man who really made her _want_ to be here. Itachi was eating in even, perfectly proportioned bites. His features were as impassive and stoic as ever, but Sakura could tell that he appreciated the meal and her cooking. The way his mouth tugged just a bit at the corner, and the way he closed his eyes after the first bite for just a moment told her that she'd accomplished pleasing the Uchiha. It made everything worth it.

As they finished, Sakura began gathering dishes but Sasuke stopped her. "Leave them," he commanded, "I'll get them later. You should go get Shiranui. Itachi and Shisui will meet you at the hospital. I have something I need to discuss with them before they leave."

"Uchiha business?" Sakura asked as she slipped on her vest and pulled her backpack onto her shoulders. "It's just as well. I saw Genma go to a bar last night, which means he'll be hard pressed to get out of bed without someone to wake him. Let's face it – Kakashi isn't going to do it," Sakura snorted.

"Hn."

The answer seemed to be enough for the kunoichi as she made her way easily out of the house, waving goodbye to the trio, and towards Kakashi and Genma's apartment.

"Do tell, little brother," Itachi said calmly, knowingly, "What Uchiha business would you have to talk about that we already don't know?"

"Tch, shut up. It's not Uchiha business I have to talk about, it's Sakura," Sasuke explained as he continued to gather the dishes. Sasuke's shoulders were tense and he wasn't meeting Itachi's eye – telling him that he was incredibly uncomfortable.

"Explain, Sasuke, we don't have all day," Itachi commanded.

"Usually she's fine on missions, but not this time of year. Naruto, Kakashi and I tried to convince Tsunade not to send Sakura on a mission without us, but she wouldn't hear of it," Sasuke began cryptically. After the dishes had been unceremoniously dumped into the sink, Sasuke sat back down at the table with Shisui and Itachi, both looking at him with confused expressions on their faces. "Sakura has nightmares."

"Nightmares?" Shisui echoed.

"Yes, nightmares. They come and go in waves. Usually they don't affect her on missions – she is more than capable of dispelling them when she has work to do. But this time of year they get particularly bad. This Saturday will be the four-year anniversary of her parent's death," Sasuke continued.

A memory suddenly flooded into Itachi's mind – a fourteen-year-old Sasuke, clad in black, escorting a trembling, sobbing mess of pink into the Uchiha compound. Naruto had been with them, helping keep Sakura upright, and they were all dressed in clothes of mourning. He hadn't thought much of it then. Back then, it wasn't uncommon to see the kunoichi get emotional, so he had originally written it off as female hormones – something he knew he would never understand. His mother had then made mention of the 'poor dear's' parents dying and saying that Sakura may be staying with them until she found an apartment, but Itachi had been so busy at the time. He'd just been given full control of ANBU, so he hadn't given it a second thought. "Why are you telling us this?" Itachi asked.

"I'm getting to that," Sasuke snapped, "The nightmares only get bad around certain times of the year. Her parent's birthdays, their anniversary, and the day of their death – that day also happens to coincide with her birthday."

"Oh, poor Sakura-chan," Shisui murmured, his usual chipper personality quelled with the sobering conversation. "Her parents died on her birthday?"

"Yes. She doesn't like to talk about it. In fact, she made me promise that I wouldn't tell you because she doesn't want you all to see her as weak. But you should know because her nightmares can be violent. I've gotten decked a few times in the middle of the night myself," Sasuke explained quietly. He was speaking into his hands where his fingers were threaded in front of his mouth. His eyes were closed, a thoughtful expression on his face, "Throughout the years, we've found that holding her while she sleeps is the only way to help with the nightmares."

"Aa," Itachi said knowingly. "That's why she spends the night at Hatake's apartment."

"How do you know that?" Sasuke bit out.

"Hn."

"You asshole. Anyway, Genma knows. Whenever Kakashi, Naruto, Sai, and I would go on missions without Sakura, Genma would be the one to take care of her if she had nightmares. So, I'm just asking that you let him take care of her if she has a nightmare," Sasuke finished through clenched teeth. This was obviously difficult for him. Showing any form of weakness or compassion for others was uncharacteristic for any Uchiha, let alone Sasuke. "I know this is an ANBU mission and whatever…but it's _Sakura_."

"Very well," Itachi replied coolly, tapping his brother on the forehead with his index finger, resulting in a glare from Sasuke. He and Shisui stood as they made their final preparations for the mission. Internally, he was processing all of the information. It subdued any feelings of doubt that existed of the relationship between Hatake and Sakura although they were unfounded in the first place. This revelation also gave an explanation to her ranking system of 'cuddling' partners she seemed to have with her teammates.

"Of course," Shisui said with a mischievous gleam in his eye. "And if Genma can't do it, I'll cuddle Sakura-chan to sleep."

"You keep you filthy hands of Sakura," Sasuke warned. The two left the house, but not before Itachi could hear Sasuke whisper, "Thank you, aniki," to him through gritted teeth. Itachi gave a curt nod and he was gone.

It was a short walk to the hospital, but Itachi wasn't surprised to find that a cheery-looking Sakura and an equally disheveled looking Genma were standing outside the doors. Sakura waved to them from a distance, and although Itachi couldn't see perfectly, he could only imagine the large smile splayed across her face. He ignored the shudder of anticipation that coursed through his body at the mental image of a beaming Sakura. This was a mission now, and he was ANBU captain Uchiha Itachi. Just like Sakura, he had a bit of an alternate personality on missions – his change just happened to be a little less extreme.

"What took ya' so long?" Genma asked as they approached. "Doesn't matter – let's go get our cool stuff that Sakura-chan made for us and get this mission going!"

Sakura led them into the hospital – greeting every nurse, doctor, patient, and family member by name – and huddled them into the elevator. She swiped her ID card that allowed them to access the basement of the hospital where all of the laboratories were located. The white hallways were lit with bright, fluorescent lights, giving an eerie feeling to the underground portion of the hospital.

"Usually you three wouldn't be allowed down here. We would make the weapons needed and then deliver them to you," Sakura said proudly, leading the way through catacombs of laboratories, "But it's okay since you're with me!"

"Che, Cupcake has the power," Shisui called from behind her. Sakura gave them a sidelong glance coupled with a sly smile. After what seemed like thirty turns down empty hallways, they were outside a plain white door with a black plaque on the outside.

**SPECIAL WEAPONRY AND POISON DEPARTMENT**

**Director Haruno Sakura – Poison Specialist**

**Assistant Director Yamanaka Ino – Concept Design Specialist**

**Special Operative Captain Tenten – Weaponry Specialist**

Sakura entered with the swipe of her ID card.

"Oi, Forehead, you get to sleep in or what?" Ino called from her corner of the room. It was large – very, very large. There were three desks in one corner and several lab tables adjacent. Floor to ceiling bookshelves and filing cabinets crowded each wall – all marked and color coded. There were also several tables of display cases that held makeup, accessories, and many other assorted objects that could possibly be infused with weapons and poisons.

"Shut up, Pig. You have the stuff I was working on?" Sakura rebuffed, walking into the lab and flopping herself down onto what Itachi assumed was her desk.

"Yeah, and since I've been here for two hours, like you _should_ have been, it's all done," Ino scoffed.

"I'm here every morning at 4 a.m. while you usually roll out of bed and in here at 8, so don't complain that the tables are turned just once," Sakura replied hastily. "Lazy Pig."

"Don't worry, they're always like this," a cheerful voice said from behind a door on the far end of the room, seeming to address the three disgruntled looking men in the room. A brown-haired girl who Itachi recognized – the newest ANBU kunoichi on Hyuuga's team, Tenten – walked out of what looked to be a very large closet. She held four outfits in her hands, all wrapped in plastic, and walked up to the group of men, "Especially early in the morning."

"Ah, yes, here are our outfits," Sakura announced cheerfully. Tenten handed them to her, and Sakura distributed them to their respective owner.

Itachi took in his tuxedo carefully. It was all black, including the tie, with a deep maroon dress shirt underneath. Genma and Shisui's outfits were similar, except their tuxes featured a white and blue undershirt respectively.

"They are all outfitted with poisons and hidden weapons," Sakura explained, "I wrote down the special features on a card for each of you, and you'll have time to further examine your outfits later, but for now, seal them in a scroll."

The team complied while Sakura sealed her own dress – that Itachi hadn't been able to catch a glimpse of – into a scroll. Then she, Ino, and Tenten fussed over different accessories, shoes, and makeup to go with the dress. As Sakura spoke of each one that she picked up, Itachi grew wary of the kunoichi. She picked up a silver hair comb that was embedded with several rubies. Each ruby, she explained, held a different poison for a different purpose. She then went to the makeup cabinet. After selecting a shade of maroon lipstick and sealing it with the dress, she added that the lipstick had a certain chemical that affected testosterone – rendering any male whose skin came in contact with the lipstick completely malleable to manipulation. The final straw was the shoes. Two and a half inch, strappy, silver heals contained six senbon needles a piece, all laced with a deadly poison. The three kunoichi were single-handedly making three of the most respected ANBU operatives _very_ uncomfortable – especially the chipper and upbeat way they laughed at the poison in the shoes. It would apparently cause all blood to stop flowing to a certain male extremity and would therefore have to be surgically removed, rendering said extremity completely useless.

Shisui looked like he wanted to cry after that particular explanation, Genma looked a deathly shade of white, and Itachi's eye twitched. Sakura began to laugh. "You boys intimidated, or what?" she joked.

"Uh, yeah. You're trying to get men's dicks chopped off," Genma replied crudely.

"Tch, well as long as you're not an asshole, you don't have to worry about it," Sakura replied, her tone equally as crude.

"Are you ready, or is there anything else?" Itachi asked, trying to stop this conversation. Genma had looked all-too-ready to defend men's pride everywhere when the captain had interrupted.

"I'm ready," Sakura announced with a smile, finally sealing her scroll that contained her outfit and accessory-death-weapons, placing them into her backpack.

"Very good then; let's move out," Itachi ordered. With that, the quartet left the hospital (after winding their way back through the maze). Itachi handed Sakura an ANBU mask, explaining she would have to wear it on any ANBU mission she went on. She took it gratefully, with a beaming smile, and placed the feline mask over her face. Like a graceful lightning, the four shinobi sprang out of the Konoha gates, away from the sun, and into the trees.

X

By the time the group stopped for their first break after six hours of nonstop running, Sakura had counted seventy five ways that working under Uchiha Itachi on ANBU Squad One was different than working with Team Seven. First, who the hell runs for six hours without so much as stopping for water? That is just…insane. It surely wasn't healthy, either. Additionally, the entire attitude of the mission was different. Sakura had been on her share of A-class missions and had even taken an S-class mission or two – such as defeating Sasori and rescuing Gaara from the clutches of the Akatsuki. Those missions were always filled with an unspoken, palpable tension. However, with Naruto around, it was fairly easy to find some light in the mission.

This, though, was _completely_ different. From the moment that the group had left Konoha, Shisui and Genma both went silent, transforming into serious shinobi. It was like nothing Sakura had ever seen or experienced before. Shisui took the lead – if it were possible, he was faster than Sasuke and Itachi – Genma followed him, Sakura after that, and Itachi took the rear. No one spoke – not one word – another occurrence that would have been an anomaly on any Team Seven mission. Occasionally, Itachi would give an order, but it wasn't often. Sakura found herself marveling at how different it was to be under Itachi's command. His voice held an air of authority, like it always did, but there was no questioning it now. There would be no mistaking it – if he gave an order, he expected it to be followed. And Sakura would follow it.

The last thing she needed was the highest ranking ANBU official to find her anything less than perfect on this mission. Impressing him was incredibly important because she knew that she would require his blessing if she wanted to take the ANBU exams. Tsunade recommending her was a huge honor, especially since she had beat out Naruto and Sasuke with this nomination, but Itachi held the final word as to whether or not she would be permitted into the ANBU examinations. There were others whose opinions mattered, but the final say went to the commander of the ANBU faction of shinobi (and perhaps Neji, if he went over the applications as well, but Sakura wasn't sure) as to whether Sakura would take the ANBU exams. Really, Sakura mused, the exams were somewhat like a secret club that was invitation only. You could apply to take the exams, but you would only be permitted if your application was accepted. If you never apply for the exams, but some higher-up decided you were talented or skilled enough, they could extend an invitation – accepting or declining was decided by the shinobi in question, but rarely did someone turn down the honor. That's what Tsunade had done to Sakura. Originally, Sakura had planned on executing more missions with Team Seven for another year or so before applying together as a team, but it seemed that the Hokage had other plans in store for her.

After their first break, the team continued on for another eight hours until they reached the border town in question. Sakura stumbled into the first decent looking hotel they could find and booked a room. Plopping down on the creaky, overused bed, Sakura sighed deeply in relief. Genma chuckled, "Happy to be off your feet?" he asked. A muffled groan was all he received in reply, and he chuckled once again. "We'll spend tomorrow scouting, and then the party is on Friday."

"We need some information tonight," Itachi announced. Genma raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "You and Shisui will find the most popular bar you can and try to gather as much information about the men who seem to run this village." Genma snorted and almost cried out for joy while Shisui silently pumped his fists to the air as a celebration. They were being given a mission where they got to go out and drink.

Sakura pulled herself up, her jade eyes bleary and red with fatigue. "I can go, too," she announced, albeit unconvincingly. "I'll be more effective since I'm a girl."

"You are dead on your feet," Itachi replied sternly. "However, you are correct about your influence over men. You and I will be doing the same thing tomorrow night."

"Oh," Sakura replied, fairly disappointed in herself for allowing her exhaustion to show. "Alright."

"There will be more men in the village tomorrow night, making it all the more important that you are prepared," Itachi continued. "You will need your rest."

Sakura smiled, exhaustedly. Secretly, she was glad that she got to crash for the night. "Right," she replied, walking to the bathroom to change and give Genma and Shisui privacy while they prepared for their night out. By the time she entered the bedroom, the lights were off. Genma and Shisui had apparently left already, and Itachi was in one of the two beds of the room. She took the other. The room featured two foldable futons that Genma and Shisui would be using later.

Sighing, she sunk into the bed with a muffled groan. Her muscles ached with exhaustion. However, as the room went still and quiet, Sakura began to feel uneasy. What if she had a nightmare? What if it got violent and she accidently tried to kill Itachi? Genma was supposed to be her anchor on this mission, but he would be out until sunrise if he had his way. What was she supposed to do now? The thought of showing such weakness to just Itachi frightened her. It would completely ruin her chances to take the ANBU exams, for sure. Slowly, through nervous and frightened thoughts, she allowed her eyelids to droop closed into a worrisome sleep.

Itachi awoke in the middle of the night to the sounds of muffled sobs coming from the bed next to his. Clearly, she was trying to hide the fact that she had nightmare, he deduced almost instantly. Her breathing was ragged and uneven, and after ever few breaths she would whimper a bit. That was what had caused Itachi to wake in the first place. Silently, he turned to face her. Her back was to him, but he could tell she was awake and crying to herself by the way her shoulders moved.

What was he to do now? Well, there was really only one solution. She could not spend the rest of the night crying for it would negatively impact the mission – or so he told himself. It wasn't that he was secretly worried about her. No, this was for the good of the mission. With fluid, silent movements, Itachi pulled himself out of bed and crept towards Sakura's. He walked to the other side of the bed and dropped into it slowly.

"I-I-Itachi?" Sakura murmured, her voice confused and his name had been choked out under a sob. He had approached her so that she would be facing him. Her face was hidden beneath her large, black shirt (one of Sasuke's old shirts, judging by the Uchiha fan on the back), and was wiping away her tears.

Without answering, Itachi slid under the covers and inched towards Sakura a bit. Suddenly, he wasn't so sure of himself. There had been several occasions where he had imagined climbing into bed with the pink-haired girl, but he never imagined it being to subdue her nightmares. Not that Itachi would ever admit it aloud, but he had found himself dreaming rather inappropriate things about this particular female on several occasions. Additionally, he wasn't even sure if she wanted him there. However, she hadn't pulled away even though he was fully in her bed and moving closer. Now, he had placed a firm arm around her waist and pulled her close, tucking her under his arm and pulling her into his chest.

Her reaction was immediate. She grabbed his shirt and shoved her face into his chest; burying it there as if she was afraid that the world was out to get her and it wouldn't see her as long as she concealed her face and hid her eyes.

"Do you wish to talk about it?" Itachi asked, trying not to make his voice sound strained. He was hardly the emotional, heart-to-heart kind of man, and this situation was discomfiting him completely.

"No," Sakura murmured. "I'm going to kill Sasuke."

Itachi chuckled, his entire chest vibrating, "That is unnecessary. He merely wishes to protect you."

"Hmph," she scoffed, still not removing her face from his chest. Something welled within him that was inexplicable. It was nothing he'd ever felt before – he was sure of that. There was this amazing feeling of warmth that had washed within him when Sakura had responded to him like that. She needed someone, and he was there to help her. The unwavering feeling of affection for the girl that had washed through him was coupled with an arousing attraction as well. The girl looked nothing less than sexy in her Uchiha clothes. Even though they were not Itachi's clothes, her garnishing his clan symbol made him swell with male-satisfaction. Now that the girl was tucked under his arm and pressed firmly into his body, he could feel every curve that he had observed earlier that morning. He tried to suppress the urge to pin her hands above her head and ravish her completely. Alright, thinking about that was not helping.

Sakura, pushed under Itachi's firm, unyielding arm, felt more like Hinata than she did herself. In fact, it would not surprise her if she feinted with the pure joy of being held by Uchiha Itachi, and she suddenly held an appreciation for the Hyuuga for every time she managed to stay conscious when Naruto hugged her. If Hinata felt anything like Sakura did now, than Sakura could surely relate to the urge of passing out before confronting the most pleasurable of sensations that was being held by the man you liked.

This experience was so different from any other she'd had. Kakashi always held her like a father would hold a daughter. He never, not once, got under the blankets with Sakura since it would be deemed inappropriate; Sakura could care less. Naruto held her like a brother would hold his sister. Large, protective arms would engulf her in the most demonstrative, protective hug while he quieted her cries and put her to sleep. Sasuke, if he would even agree to it in the first place, would leave several inches between them, and place an arm around her waist. Throughout the night – Sakura wasn't sure if it was her or Sasuke that did it – they would move closer together and tangle themselves. With Itachi, though, it felt more like being held by a significant other than one of her surrogate family members. Heat pooled in Sakura's stomach as she thought of Itachi and her in the same bed, and she suddenly had to placate the urge to, as Ino would so graciously put it, jump his bones.

As sleep began to overcome her once again, Sakura felt herself subconsciously snuggle further into Itachi's radiating heat. It earned her another throaty, way-too-sexy, chuckle from the Uchiha. "Go to sleep," he whispered into her hair.

"Goodnight, Itachi," Sakura murmured into his chest, "Thank you."

"Hm. Perhaps you could let me know where I rank on your, as you name it, 'cuddling' scale in the morning," Itachi muttered.

"You're already way better than Sasuke," Sakura joked.

She could practically taste his smirk. Stupid male ego. "Tell me something I don't know."

Sakura sighed in defeat and didn't respond to the haughty comment. Instead, she snuggled closer to Itachi and drifted into a wonderful sleep.

* * *

AN: There! A little shorter, yes, but there's fluff. This is mostly a transition chapter. I hate them with a burning passion, but they are necessary. I have the next few chapters planned out. Yay!

Keep reviewing. Clearly, it makes the updates come faster.


	7. Take My Hand

AN: Here's chapter 6! I hope you enjoy it!

And please review!

* * *

**The First Time**

**Chapter 6: Take My Hand**

* * *

_"So just take my hand, you know that I will never leave your side."_

* * *

Sakura wasn't sure if she was disappointed or relieved to find herself alone when she awoke. Sleeping next to Itachi had been, to sum it in one word: blissful, perfect, amazing. Alright, that was more than one word, but that was how she felt. However, she was also relieved. There would be that initial morning after awkwardness, except there wouldn't have been the great sex the night before, to Sakura's eternal consternation. If he had offered it, she would have taken it willingly. Or would she have? Sure, she'd been in love with him for like…thirteen years…but she was not the type of girl to jump in bed with a man that she was not in a relationship with.

Not that she was innocent. On the contrary, Sakura had her fair share of romantic liaisons, not that she would tell Naruto or Sasuke that. The last thing she needed was those bastards finding out she wasn't a virgin. Undoubtedly, they would strap her down in her apartment and never allow her to leave again. _Hypocrites_. She thought to herself. Naruto was not one to bring random females home, but he had his own encounters with women that had left him without virtue. Sasuke, plain and simple, was a man whore. There was no way that Sakura could count how many women Sasuke had slept with since they turned fifteen when he lost his virginity. Sakura prided herself on being the perfect female 'wingman' for Sasuke. Naruto was much too loud and boisterous to ever be effective.

Here was Sakura's and Sasuke's ruse: Sasuke would find a girl he wanted to take home. Sakura would approach her casually, usually complimenting something she wore in order to strike up a conversation. After a few minutes of idle chit-chat, Sasuke would appear and ask Sakura if she was alright. Sakura would introduce her new 'friend' to Sasuke, and then find a way to casually slip out of the conversation. In her experience, it had a 92 percent chance of success. Sasuke claimed the other 8 percent were either in a relationship or lesbians in order to save his pride. Sakura was hardly shorted in this situation. In return for her services as a wingman, Sasuke bought her all the drinks she wanted. It was a good system.

Slowly, Sakura sat up in bed. The room was still dark and she could see the sun was barely peaking over the horizon from their view outside. Her feet touched the warm, wooden floor when she felt her toe nudge something soft. She let out a low bark of laughter when she took in her surroundings. Shisui and Genma were both lying on the floor – on the unrolled futon – between the two beds in the room in a very compromising position. They were, in short, cuddling. The duo was facing away from her bed and towards Itachi's. Genma was rolled into the fetal position where his head lay over Shisui's arm as a pillow. Shisui's other arm was draped over Genma's waist with his legs splayed. _Talk about the awkward morning after_. Sakura thought to herself. Luckily, both men were fully clothed. But they reeked of alcohol and cheap perfume.

Sakura allowed a low chuckle to rumble up her throat as she stepped around the boys. She noticed a note on the door to the bathroom, where she had been headed. '_Sakura, I went to get breakfast. Don't wake up Shiranui or Shisui for I plan to return with a disposable camera to capture this particular scene and use it as blackmail when I see fit. Be back soon – Itachi._

Sakura laughed lightly and opened the door to the bathroom with her clothes in hand. Today the group would go into town in order to find out any information on the gang that ruled here, so she would want to wear civilian clothes. Stripping off her nightwear, she stepped into the cool water of the shower, waiting for it to warm. It only took a few moments, and soon she was reveling in the heat that cascaded down her body – flowing over her back. A satisfied sigh escaped her lips. Her muscles were sore from the exertion of running yesterday, not that she'd ever admit it out loud. At least the warm water was helping to loosen them.

The metal knob of the shower squeaked slightly as she turned the shower off. Dressing herself in a blue t-shirt and black shorts, she appraised herself in the mirror. She decided she looked acceptable, and then commenced with braiding her hair and flipping it playfully over her left shoulder. Only then did she realize how long it had been getting. Perhaps it was time for a cut, she decided.

Itachi was standing at the foot of her bed when she entered the hotel room with a disposable camera clicking photos of the two shinobi. He gave Sakura a brief nod in greeting, and then took another photo. Sakura grinned evilly and crawled over the bed so she was leaning over Shisui's ear.

"GOOD MORNING BOYS!"

Shisui cried out in horror. Genma jumped. Both turned to face each other, realization dawning on their faces, and they both shrieked. "You were cuddling me you pervert!" Genma cried.

"You crawled into my arms!" Shisui accused, jumping onto the bed with Sakura. Said kunoichi was laughing hysterically, rolling over the bed as tears rolled down her cheeks. Itachi smirked and shook his head, turning his attention to distributing the rolls and milk he had brought back from the supermarket. Tucking the camera into his bag, he handed Sakura a roll which she took gratefully, finally quelling her laughter. Sakura was thankful for the distraction from the mission. So far, the entire experience had been very tense. Nothing less was to be expected from an ANBU mission, but she was thankful for the amusement. The three men she was with almost always brought her constant joy, and she was happy that they could still enjoy each other under stressful circumstances.

Shisui and Genma scowled throughout breakfast, which was enjoyed in silence. When they were finished, it was Genma who brought up the mission, "So what's the plan for today, Itachi?" he asked casually as Shisui emerged from the bathroom – having showered the grime from last night off himself.

"First, you will debrief me on what you discovered," Itachi began. Itachi sat down on his bed, Shisui taking a seat on the chair in the room. Genma and Sakura were on her bed, still finishing off the remnants of breakfast. "Then, you and Sakura will go into town and find out what you can from the civilians. Most of them will not know much about the gang's inner workings, but gossip is difficult to stop. Shisui and I will go to the mansion where the party is being held tomorrow night and evaluate the layout as well as the guards that are posted."

Genma nodded his head in agreement. "We didn't find out much last night," he began. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a stack of notecards with faces, biographies, and other information written neatly on them. Sakura recognized them as the men they were assigned to assassinate. Genma began to flip through the cards. "From what we found out, this man is the leader of the gang."

Genma pulled out a card and flashed it to the group. _Chao Chang_. "He's foreign," Sakura noted. The man was in his mid-forties short, shorter than her, and balding. He wasn't fat, per se, but he definitely was chubby around the middle. His skills were average, and he didn't have any known shinobi or mercenary training. Sakura looked at his bio, reading it thoroughly, and then came to one conclusion. "He's not the real leader."

Itachi smirked knowingly. "What makes you say that?" he asked.

"He's not attractive enough," Sakura replied. "The man we're looking for is said to have tons of women flocking to him. He's rumored to have killed hundreds of people, and he has this town in a vice grip. They are using this Chang person as a scape-goat in case if the hidden villages come after him. He is probably an important figure in the gang, but I doubt that he is the one calling the shots. Also, it looks better to have someone older running things because it makes everything look more official and respectful."

"Very good," Shisui complimented. "We've come to the same conclusions. That's not something your average jounin could figure out, Cupcake. You should be proud of yourself."

Sakura grinned sheepishly when Itachi spoke. "Who do you think we're looking for Sakura?" he asked. "I have a person in mind, but I'm curious to see who you think it is."

Sakura flipped through the cards, noting each person's abilities. Slowly, she began to whittle down suspects until just one card remained in her hand. "Him," she stated confidently although she seriously doubted if she was right or not. The card hit the bed, upturned, and faced the other three. "Chaogi Gorou," Sakura concluded.

"Why?" Itachi asked.

"He is young and attractive. He has training as a mercenary, and apparently he was a good one. Also, if you look at his features, he looks like Chao Chang which means they are probably family. It isn't abnormal to keep running businesses such as this within families. Even his surname, Chaogi, is altered to sound less foreign here," Sakura reasoned.

Itachi smirked once again. "Very good, Sakura," he complemented before standing up. "We should depart now. Shisui, come with me. Genma, you and Sakura spend the day in town and find out what you can about Chang and Gorou. We will meet for dinner at a restaurant in town called The Crestwood Garden at six."

"Yes, sir."

"Sakura, you'll need to change your hair color. No one can tie this back to Konoha," Itachi explained. Sakura merely smiled at him knowingly. Green chakra laced through her fingers and she ran her hands through her hair a few times. The chakra embedded in the follicles as the cotton-candy pink hair changed subtly to a nondescript chocolate brown.

It was a jutsu she developed in order to keep from wearing a wig or dying her hair whenever she had a mission such as this. As much as she loved her carnation-pink locks, she knew that it was a beacon for unwanted recognition. Throughout the villages, Sakura was relatively well-known. She was the Godaime's apprentice, an accomplished medic, and a damned good shinobi. Rumor had it that she had already surpassed her shishou, but Sakura didn't believe that to be true. Her shishou always had something else to teach her even though Sakura had technically graduated from her apprenticeship.

"I'm gonna shower before we get going," Genma announced, walking to the bathroom door and shutting it quietly behind him.

Itachi nodded approval, and then stood to leave. Shisui followed suit behind him as they exited the hotel room. They walked in silence down the stairs and entered the streets. There were many more people out today than there had been the evening before. Walking down the main road, Itachi spotted the mansion where the party would be held on top of a large hill in the distance. Setting off in that direction, it only took a moment for him to realize that Shisui was eyeing him carefully.

"So…" Shisui began once they had gotten about a hundred yards away from the hotel.

"Yes?" Itachi replied when Shisui didn't finish his thought.

"Was it my imagination or were you sleeping in bed with Sakura-chan when I got home last night?" Shisui asked slyly. Itachi stiffened imperceptivity. He had been under the impression that his older cousin had been much too drunk to recognize anything when he came home earlier that morning. The two had stumbled in the room, fell to the floor on top of the roll-away futon, and passed out without so much as muttering a coherent word to him. They had taken their mission to scout out the bars a notch or two too far – at least that's what Itachi had thought. Perhaps he hadn't given Shisui enough credit if he had been coherent enough to observe that Itachi and Sakura were wrapped in each other's arms.

However, he chose to play it safe in case the eldest Uchiha cousin was simply bluffing. "Don't you mean very early this morning? You stumbled into the room at about four."

"Whichever…"

"Hn."

"YOU SLEPT WITH SAKURA-CHAN!" Or perhaps he should never consider giving Shisui more credit than he deserved if he was really that dense and immature. His cousin never acted like this on missions, and Itachi could only surmise that it was the kunoichi's presence that was causing the change in Shisui's personality.

Sighing in exasperation, Itachi muttered, "Will you please shut up? We're approaching the mansion."

Shisui's voice quieted. "So did you?"

"She was having a nightmare. Nothing happened."

"You like-like her, don't you?"

"I am not twelve. My feelings for any woman, Sakura or not, will not be qualified to such immature terminology."

"Itachi and Sakura, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I- OW THAT HURT." Shisui rubbed the back of his head where Itachi had just hit him, hard.

"Sh. You will get us killed if you continue. We're here."

Shisui promptly ended his onslaught of teasing as they cloaked themselves in the shadows of a grove of trees that surrounded a four-story mansion. The wall that surrounded the mansion was several meters tall and two meters thick, which allowed guards to constantly walk around the top to patrol the edge. The mansion was made of an expensive white brick that was plastered with concrete. That would make it difficult for them to destroy it because it was reinforced with such resilient materials.

Slowly, the cousins circled the mansion several times throughout the day, looking for traps and preparing their plan

X

Sakura walked chirpily down the street. The early spring weather was warm, gracing her ivory skin in waves that made it tingle in warmth. She closed her apple-green eyes, reveling in the warmth. There was something so wonderful about the changing of seasons – all of them. Dry heat and a blazing sun signaled the beginning of summer which made Sakura excited for vacations, the beach, and barbeques. There was the smell of dried, burning leaves that would indicate fall had begun – cute sweaters, apple cider, and pleasant walks. The air would then turn crisp as small frost graced the ground, welcoming winter with open arms. Drinking hot coco, watching late-night movies with her friends, and starting ninja-level snowball fights were Sakura's favorite pastimes. But her favorite was the warming sun and gracious rain that told Sakura spring was upon them.

Maybe she was partial to spring because of her name, and her birthday was in the spring. That didn't matter, though. The birds that flew around her head and the distinctly wonderful aroma of newly blooming flowers created a world of prosperous new life during the spring. It was the hope of new life after winter. _That's_ why Sakura loved the spring. It was the one time of year when death brought new life. Because in their world, in the shinobi world, life only brought more death.

The weather in the small town was much warmer than it was in Konoha because of the village's proximity to Wind Country, which was much warmer year round compared to Fire Country. Sakura welcomed the warmth, and dawned black, jean shorts, a pair of sneakers, and a light blue tank top. Today, she was a visiting civilian on her way to a resort in Wind Country. Additionally, her, her uncle (Genma), and two bodyguards and cousins (Shisui and Itachi), were invited to a party at the large mansion over the hill because Genma had some business dealings with one of the men there.

At least, that's the story the three had concocted before they separated for the day.

She and her uncle Kimura Takeshi – Genma's code name for the mission – were enjoying the small market the village had to offer while their bodyguards spent the day preparing for the party that would take place the following night.

"Aya-chan," Genma called to her from a booth.

Right behind Genma, there was a large crowed of men walked down the street – taking up most of the walk so the rest of the population had to jump out of the way. One of the men, Sakura realized, was Gorou. Seemingly unaware of the group of men, Sakura raced up to him with a beaming smile on her face, "Yes, Takeshi-ojisan?" she inquired. When she reached the booth, she saw an old couple standing behind the counter. She bowed lightly, "Hello!"

The old woman looked at her sweetly. "What a pretty niece you have here, Kimura-san," the old woman cooed. They seemed to own a small jewelry stand.

"She's a lovely young woman," the elderly man continued.

Sakura's face flushed the perfect amount of pink to show a civilian's embarrassment. "I'm not worthy of such praise," she answered, bowing her head down in mock-shyness. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that the group of men also included Gorou's family member, Chang. Chang walked in the middle with an air of haughty confidence about him, while Gorou walked off to the side. He was in perfect position for Sakura to make contact.

Sakura ogled the jewelry for a moment before turning abruptly, "Come on, Oji-san, I want to show you-"

She collided with something firm and stumbled back appropriately for a civilian. Her eyes darted in her head nervously before looking up at the man who she had knocked into. "I'm so, so, so, sorry!" she cried in mock-exasperation.

The man looking down at her, Chaogi Gorou, was tall. Sakura's head had collided with his well-toned, muscular upper-arm. His tanned skin glowed perfectly in the bathing sun, making him look wonderfully ethereal. Dark chestnut eyes flashed with confusion, annoyance, and then upon getting a better look at the woman who had crashed into him, amusement. His chiseled face was the epitome of masculinity with a thick-set jaw, broad yet perfectly proportioned nose, and sparkling eyes that were boring smolderingly into Sakura. Dark brown hair was naturally spiked and lazily fell off the side – much like Kakashi's – but it wasn't as long and it didn't cover his eyes. If Sakura had to think of what a sex-god would look like, he would be it – down to his khaki cargo pants that hugged his waist, brown shinobi sandals, and brown t-shirt that fit him perfectly.

Sakura averted her gaze quickly – one of the most basic human traits of showing attraction, she reminded herself – before tentatively looking back up to make eye contact with the man once again. "I apologize for knocking into you-"

"Gorou. Chaogi Gorou is my name," he replied, smirking at her.

Sakura blushed a bit – pink barely dabbing her nose and cheeks, "Chaogi-san, my apologies."

"I don't recognize you. Your name, m'lady?" he asked, grinning at her once again. It was a devilishly good grin, which was almost better for Sakura. She didn't have to fake her shyness or attraction to the man. _It'll be a pity when I have to kill him_. She thought dryly to herself. Assassinations were never her favorite missions. In fact, she detested them.

When she would go on assassinations with Team Seven, she usually allowed Kakashi or Sasuke to do the honors. However, she had done them in the past when they required her particular skill set or expertise. Usually, she handled poisonings or anything that required a female body. Those were the missions where Sasuke and Naruto would get the angriest. They did not like the thought of their female teammate possibly getting raped. Sakura was very skilled, though, and it never came to that. At the very most, she had to deal with some unwanted kisses and touching before she made the final move to end their target's life.

Unfortunately, judging by the way Gorou was eyeing her legs and chest 'discreetly,' Sakura would probably have to deal with some of those unwanted kisses and touches for this mission. At least Gorou was attractive. Some of the other men that she'd been forced to deal with were downright nasty.

"Oh, yes, how rude of me!" Sakura replied excitedly. "My name is Kimura Aya. It is a pleasure to meet you. I'm here with my uncle…" Sakura looked around to discover that Genma was nowhere to be found, meaning he had slunk off someplace to hide and listen on their conversation for verbal cues, clues, or any other important information. "He must have gone back to the hotel…"

"Ah, he probably thought you were following him. So, you're not from around here?" Gorou asked politely.

Sakura shook her head. "No," she explained, "My uncle and I are on our way to a resort in Wind Country. However, he had to stop by here for some party that one of his business partners is attending. So we're attending that tomorrow evening."

Gorou's eyebrow rose in acknowledgement of her statement, and he seemed to be processing what she had said. "I'm actually hosting that party along with my uncle," he replied, motioning towards his uncle further down the street. The remaining men who had been with Gorou had made their way down the road to give Sakura and Gorou more privacy. "So, you will be attending? What's your uncle's name?"

"Yes, my uncle and I will both be there along with our two family guards. His name is Kimura Takeshi," Sakura replied thoughtfully. She shifted nervously, blushing a bit, "Um…would you mind walking me back to my hotel? I'm not positive where it is…and my uncle isn't around…"

Gorou's eyes lit up. He waved to the group of men in front of him, telling them to go on without him. He replied, charmingly, "Of course, of course, it would be rude of me not to. I couldn't leave a beautiful young woman out here without an escort. It'd be a crime!"

_Because you suddenly care so much about crime in this town of yours. _She thought bitterly to herself. Sakura leaned back bashfully and giggled just right. "Thank you," she said quietly, "We're staying at the Border's Hotel at the edge of town."

"Ah, that's a nice place," he commented as he began to walk in the direction of the hotel. "How long will you be staying?"

"Just until Saturday morning, I think. We'll be leaving the morning after the party," Sakura explained, darting shy looks at Gorou every few steps.

His face was the picture of contentment in the afternoon sun. "That's too bad," he said with the smallest hint of disappointment in his voice, "I wish we could have gotten to know each other a little better. You are good company."

Sakura laughed nervously. "You are excellent company, yourself," she replied. Then, a little slyly, she continued, "You know, my uncle usually falls asleep early. Around nine. He lets me go out after that as long as I bring one of my guards with me. But they usually don't mind me spending some time on my own… So... if I were looking for something fun to do in this village around ten o'clock tonight, where should I go?"

Judging by the light in Gorou's eyes, he understood her meaning loud and clear. "There's a bar," he replied, coughing a bit, "not far from your hotel called the Lady's Dragon. That's where I spend my Thursday nights because they have good prices on drinks."

"I remember passing it on the way in. Perhaps I'll check it out tonight after my uncle falls asleep," Sakura replied. They were now approaching the hotel where Sakura and the rest of the team were staying. "This is it! Thank you for walking me home, Chaogi-san."

He held up his hands in mock-bashfulness, but Sakura could see the slightly cocky grin underlining his face. "It was my honor. And you may call me Gorou…that is if you don't mind me calling you Aya," he replied silkily.

Sakura beamed her best smile at him, "Of course. Thank you for walking me home, Gorou. It was an honor to meet you. Maybe I'll see you later."

Sakura winked at him playfully before sauntering back into the hotel. She bolted up the stairs and ran into their room where Genma was climbing through the window. "Good job!" he complemented. "That was some A-grade information gathering and relationship building!"

Sakura smiled, "I guess I know where Itachi and I are going tonight."

X

"Absolutely not!" Genma hollered.

Sakura rolled her eyes, "I have to. You act like this is the first time I've worn this dress."

"That," he retorted, "Is not a dress. That is a scrap of sparkling fabric that leaves little to the imagination."

Sakura frowned, furrowing her brows in annoyance. Sure, the dress was short, black, and sparkling. However, it was necessary for the mission. She looked over to the other side of the room where Itachi and Shisui were drawing a rough outline to the layout of the mansion where the party was held. Eyes searching for help, she gestured to Itachi and Shisui. Itachi eyes her for a moment, the smallest frown on his face, before looking back down and marking where he remembered guards being.

Shisui shrugged, "Sorry, Cupcake, but he's right. That dress is not appropriate for my girl to be wearing."

Sakura scoffed, and pulled the dress down a bit. It was nearly ten o'clock at night. After dinner, they had returned to the hotel room and debriefed each other about what they had discovered that day. Itachi and Shisui had come back with loads of information on the mansion, the location of the guards, and plans on how to escape from the house without being caught. Genma and Sakura explained their encounter with Gorou, and they all agreed that it would be good for her and Itachi to meet him at the bar he had been talking about earlier. That is, until Genma saw the dress she was wearing.

It fell to mid-thigh, hugging her curves which accentuated all the right areas. The small, glittery black dress featured a tight-waist, which pushed Sakura's breasts up a bit, making them seem an entire cup bigger than they really were. The low-neckline also added to that affect. Ino had once told her to accentuate her legs, which were apparently Sakura's gift from God. Since Sakura didn't have large breasts or a notable butt, she always tried to emphasize her legs. Then again, Sakura thought, looking at herself in the mirror, her boobs weren't that small and her butt was alright. They just weren't as porn-worthy as Ino's happened to be. Sighing, Sakura pulled on a pair of black heels that were the perfect height – tall enough to give her legs an extra boost, but short enough so she could kick ass in them.

Sakura fondly remembered a mission where she and Ino had to pose as slutty civilians in Water Country. They both had to assassinate their respective targets. However, after a night of drinking, a group of men figured out who they were and what they were trying to do. So, Ino and Sakura had to fight all of them in tiny dresses (smaller than the one she was wearing now), and three-inch tall stilettos. After that, Sakura made it a priority to do some basic combat training in heels because that was not a pleasant experience in the least.

Sakura sighed, "C'mon, I have to do this. This is one of the reasons I'm on this mission, remember?"

"When your father finds out…" Genma began.

Sakura's face went pale for a moment, before returning to its' original color along with a resolute look on her face, "You will not tell Kakashi about this. Itachi, please, back me up here."

Itachi looked at her moment, the small frown still present on his impassive features. Monotonically, he replied, "Sasuke would kill me. Or at least he would try."

Sakura let out an exasperated sigh before rifling through her bag. She grabbed a black blazer and pulled it over her shoulders. She buttoned it up a bit so it covered more of her breasts. "Better?" she hissed. "Now let's go."

Itachi nodded and stood up. He was already clad in a black t-shirt, black shoes, and dark blue-jeans. Personally, he didn't care for jeans, but many young civilians wore them. They restricted movement and were made of a stiff, itchy fabric. He'd wear his shinobi pants over jeans any day. Living with them for one night, though, would not be impossible. Grabbing a leather jacket on his way, the duo walked out of the hotel and in the direction of the bar silently.

Itachi, surprisingly enough, was the one to break the silence, "Those shoes are impractical."

"I can fight in them," Sakura replied resolutely. The eyebrow that arched at her in surprise told her that Itachi didn't believe her. "I can. Ino and I spent a lot of time training in high heels in order to be effective. Plus, if I have to, they are easy to rip off."

An amused sound came from the back of Itachi's throat, but no more words were exchanged. The air was chilly at night since it was still spring, and an involuntary shiver ran through Sakura. Her legs were beginning to go numb, and she couldn't even use her chakra to warm them because it would be a dead giveaway to anybody who could sense it. Even the most basic of mercenaries were taught how to sense chakra presences. When the rounded the corner of the street they had been walking on, the small bar came into view – the nightlife was lively within, and music pounded from the small space.

Sakura took in a deep breath, calming her nerves. No matter how many times she had done this, it was always a little worrying right before. When she was in there, she would be the essence of a woman on the prowl, but right now, she was trying to settle her nerves. Itachi led her into the bar quietly and quickly found them a seat at a tall table that had two barstools next to it.

"Do you see him?" Itachi asked quietly. Sakura looked around casually and spotted her target quickly. He was sitting at the bar, chatting amiably with the bartender and sipping on something that looked like rum and coke. She fumbled with a piece of brown hair between her fingers that was framing her face. She had pulled the nondescript chocolate locks into an elegantly messy bun on top of her head while her bangs fell around her face.

"Yeah, he's at the bar. I'm going to go get a drink," Sakura replied slowly, pushing herself from the barstool and fixing her dress.

"You have money?" Itachi asked quietly.

Sakura laughed a little. "I don't pay for my own drinks," she retorted confidently before walking off with grace, her hips swaying lightly that had every man in the room leering at her.

Itachi watched her go. He was trying not to be jealous. Really, he was. But he knew that Sakura may have to do certain things with this man in order to extract information from him. That fact irritated him greatly. However, he had no real right to be jealous. She wasn't his. He had no claim over the girl in any right, but he still did not want to see her interact with another man in any sort of affectionate way whatsoever.

When she had come out of the bathroom in that dress, he had to fight down the overwhelming urge to pounce on her, rip it off of her, and take her right there. But, he was an Uchiha, and Uchiha's possessed an extraordinary amount of self-control. Although Itachi knew that there were rumors around Konoha about his repressed sex drive, quite the opposite was true. He was a normal, healthy young male that could appreciate a woman. He had his share of encounters with them over the years, but the only person who knew about this was Shisui. Not even Sasuke knew the details of Itachi's sex life. So when Sakura had appeared before them in the tiny number she was in, Itachi's hormones had reacted like any other healthy, twenty-two year old man's would. But since he was so well trained at keeping his emotions in control, he had managed to hide the ever present tugging on his sex drive that called for action to be taken with the girl.

Even Shisui hadn't made too many inappropriate comments to the woman. Despite his older cousin's constant flirting, Itachi knew that Shisui viewed Sakura as a younger sister, and he did not want his little sister walking around in something that barely covered her most private areas. Itachi didn't mind the dress, really. What he didn't like was the fact that there were other men who would see her in the dress. She could wear it for him anytime she wanted although if she did, it wouldn't stay on her long.

Sighing, he ordered a drink from a waitress that had just passed him. He really should be looking for information as well, but he was determined to keep a discreet eye on Sakura. If anything happened, he would have to be alert and ready to help. He stole a glance at the bar where Sakura had positioned herself a few seats down from their target. The man was unabashedly leering at the young woman. Itachi wasn't surprised when he made his way over to Sakura and started chatting with her.

The man was animated in their discussion, and began buying drink after drink for him and the young woman. Itachi tried not to stare at her blatantly because he didn't want to chase the man off. Well, he did, but that wouldn't prove useful to the mission. A few women approached Itachi and struck up conversations with him. He was polite, as always, but ended up brushing off their advances. Why would he bother with these women when he had a perfectly good companion with him? Alright, so he was technically alone. But he did not want to give Sakura the wrong impression or idea of him.

About an hour passed like this – Sakura chatting with Gorou while Itachi half-watched while sipping his drink. Eventually, Gorou began to touch Sakura, who did little to dissuade his advances. First, he brushed her arm with his fingers. Then he put a sturdy hand on her hip. This continued for a while why Sakura flirted back with him. Through gritted teeth, Itachi observed Gorou lean down and capture Sakura's lips in a passionate kiss. Itachi scowled. Those were _his_ lips to kiss, not anybody else's. Itachi clenched his hands, trying to keep his blatant jealousy under control. The overwhelming urge to walk up to Gorou and kill him overcame Itachi, but he suppressed it quickly. First, this was a mission. Second, as much as he hated it, Sakura was not his. Those were not his lips to kiss.

This was so strange for him. Usually, during missions, he was the epitome of a perfect shinobi. Rarely did he lose control like this. He decided being around Sakura on missions was probably not good for him – especially not when she was making out with another man.

Sakura, for her part, was doing well. She was not too overzealous with the man, as she played hard-to-get, but she was giving him enough to know she was interested. Although, she was pretending to be interested – at least, that's what Itachi thought. Doubts arose within him when he saw Sakura lead Gorou out of the main room and into the hallway that lead to the bathrooms and offices. It took every ounce of his renowned Uchiha self-control not to run back there and rip the man off of Sakura.

Suddenly, the smallest fluctuation in Sakura's chakra caught his attention. No one would have felt it unless they were highly skilled and looking for a change in her particular chakra signature. His head snapped back up to find the kunoichi walking towards him with a smug smile on her lips. She approached Itachi carefully, weaving in and out of the people as she went. Finally, when she reached him, she smiled at him confidently.

"He admitted to me that he was the leader," she announced with a confident whisper that only he could hear. "I've got more information. I'll tell you when we get back to the hotel or tomorrow with Genma and Shisui."

"Where is he now?" Itachi asked carefully.

Sakura smiled again. "He's in a genjutsu, thinking he's having the time of his life," Sakura replied happily. Then, her brow furrowed as her lips twisted a bit. "He is a bit of an asshole."

"Did he do anything to you?" Itachi asked quietly as he gulped down the last bit of his drink. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to know the answer, but he had to make sure she was alright. They began heading for the door even though it was only one in the morning. They had a long day ahead of them tomorrow.

"Besides the unwanted kiss, no," she replied. The air was colder now that they were outside, and she shivered. Itachi pulled off the leather jacket he had been wearing and draped it over her shoulders. "Thanks."

"Hn." '_You're welcome_' was the rough translation Sakura garnered. The rest of the walk back was silent, but it didn't take long to reach the hotel.

The duo scaled the stairs and entered the hotel room quietly. Genma and Shisui were already asleep, a movie playing on the cheap TV in the background. Sakura smiled a bit. Shisui had stolen the second bed while Genma slept on the couch. Grabbing her pajamas she gestured towards the bathroom to Itachi, who nodded his head. While she changed, he slipped into his jounin pants and collapsed in exhaustion onto the other bed. Mentally, this day had been completely draining. Gathering information, creating plans, and watching the woman who you maybe-sort of-even-though-it-was-completely-inappropriate had feelings for kiss another man really took its toll.

Sakura cracked the door to the bathroom and stopped when she caught sight of the man in her bed, which Itachi was taking up a good part of. Did he expect her to crawl in bed with him? Was she supposed to take the futon? What was this all about? She put her things in her bag that was on the floor and began slowly making her way across the room.

"Sakura," Itachi began, "Get into bed. It's late and we have a lot to do tomorrow."

Sakura smiled giddily to herself, and crawled into bed with Itachi. Slipping under the covers, she felt Itachi's strong arm snake around her waist and pull her close automatically. And for the second night in a row, she fell into a blissful, wonderful, absolutely perfect sleep.

* * *

AN: I hope Itachi didn't seem to OOC in this chapter. I tried to keep all his rants internal. I guess the key is to explain how he feels internally, while not allowing him to show too much externally. Does that make sense? Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. I'm pleased to say that there will be some more fluff in the next one! I know you all love your ItaSaku fluff.

Please review!

Also, here's some unashamed advertising for my new (I know, I'm already super busy with my other stuff but this is going to be shorter and I'll be focusing on this first, don't kill me) SasukeXSakura story:

In Order To Heal

Summary: The day Uchiha Sasuke returned to Konoha, Naruto's broad arm slung around his shoulders with a glowing smile plastered on his face, was supposed to be the best day of her life. Instead, she crouched on top of a roof that overlooked the gates with a look of contempt hidden under her ceramic ANBU mask. Post Shinobi World War. SasukeXSakura and other secondary pairings TBD. Rated M.

Please check it out!


	8. Frozen Over

AN: Here's a little Fun Fact: this story was supposed to be a one-shot. It is now looking to span about fifteen plus chapters.

So, with that little tidbit of information: here is a chapter of Itachi X Sakura fluff. Enjoy the clouds, my friends, and welcome to summer!

Please review for me! They make me happy!

* * *

**The First Time**

**Chapter 7: Frozen Over**

* * *

_"It was the winter of '86, all the fields had frozen over_  
_So we moved to Arizona to save our only son."_

* * *

Haruno Sakura was frightening.

Not like Orochimaru frightening, Tsunade frightening, or even Akatsuki frightening – Haruno Sakura was in a league of her own.

It was nearly seven in the evening – they would have to leave soon, Itachi reminded her. She waved him off as she continued doing…whatever she was doing. Because he could not see from the way she was curled up at the end of her bed. Slowly, Itachi walked over to her side. Her legs were folded neatly beneath her, her strappy silver heels lying next to her, as she dipped senbon into a glass of water and then into a powdered vial she had pulled out of her bag minutes earlier. Genma joined him, watching her methodically place the powdered senbon into the hidden compartment in the heel of her stilettos and capping them with the small rubber wedge that would hold the senbon in place.

Itachi quirked an eyebrow at her and was slightly disturbed when a wide, wicked grin spread across her face.

"It's explosive powder laced with my chakra," she answered the unspoken question. "I can detonate it at any time."

The absolutely horrified look on Genma's face made her throw her head back and laugh. It wasn't her normal, tinkling laughter that pulled on Itachi's heart and elated his chest. No – it was something darker and much more maniacal that spoke of a hidden evil that no man wanted to cross. When had sweet little Sakura grown into such a vicious woman?

So yes, Haruno Sakura was incredibly frightening. She was silently frightening. She was the frightening that you didn't know about until it was too late. Her light colored hair, cute smile, petite figure, and expressive apple eyes were captivating and alluring. However, like any siren, she would pull unsuspecting men in. Just as the man would find her so utterly perfect

…She would strike by blowing him up with explosive-laced senbon. Itachi surely hoped that wasn't what was happening to him.

Shisui stepped out of the bathroom, a bemused expression crossing his features.

"Why is Cupcake laughing like a mad woman?" he asked, his puzzled tone matching the slanted brow and confused frown.

"Because she is a mad woman!" Genma exclaimed as he took measured footsteps away from Sakura. She just grinned back at him, grabbed her dress from the closet, and sauntered into the bathroom to change, claiming she would be ready in a half an hour. True to word, half an hour later (it was thirty-seven minutes, but Itachi didn't think it wise to complain), Sakura walked rather sheepishly back into the hotel room.

Her dress was a dark red satin, strapless number, forming her body tightly as it slinked down to the ground. Silver jewels crusted the area just below her breasts, accentuating her slim waist and pushing her bosom up to make it seem larger. Her hair, which was still a mute brown, was curled into ringlets and was clipped behind her at the crown of her head, letting the strands fall down and touched just above her shoulders. The silver comb that they had seen her take from the weapons case – the one that was filled with poison – was brushed into her hair and tucked the loose strands of her bangs back.

Shisui catcalled, Genma blanched and muttered something about Kakashi killing him, and Itachi just stared. Suddenly, he felt his neck grow warm and the hotel room was a little stuffier, but he managed to look away from the woman who had just entered the room so she wouldn't notice the pink tint that flushed his cheeks. However, he had turned his gaze right towards Shisui who took one look at him before bursting out in a fit of giggles.

Sometimes he wished he could kill his cousin.

"You look lovely, Sakura," Itachi commented, turning his gaze back to the woman in front of him, but he went straight to looking at her eyes, avoiding staring at here body anymore. That was a mistake as well. Sakura very rarely wore makeup, simply because she said she didn't care. Though, with makeup – which she did very tastefully – her usually pretty face was turned into a feminine, flawless spectacle that turned the dreary hotel room into a shining palace with one smile from the rosette. When Itachi complimented her, the smallest tints of pink rose across her cheekbones which very effectively made Itachi's heart stop in his chest.

Before Itachi could say anything, even though he felt he probably couldn't speak without cracking his voice like a hormonal teenage boy, Shisui interjected, "Let's get going, shall we?"

Sometimes he wished he could hug his cousin.

The group nodded and teleported themselves to a wooded area a block outside of the mansion, planning to walk the rest of the way to the party. Sakura _hated _transporting herself like this because no matter how many times she tried, she always stumbled when she came out of the wormhole – especially in stilettos.

This time, a steadying hand grabbed onto her the moment she appeared in the small little grove of trees, saving her from dirtying her very pretty, very expensive dress. She smiled up to the man who was holding her forearm steadily. "Thanks," she muttered, smoothing her dress back out. Itachi merely inclined his head in response, not able to find words for the creature in front of him. Shaking his head lightly as the group set out, he pondered when exactly had the girl strolling in front of him had gained the power to make him speechless.

The spring air was warm, but the wind that shifted through the trees made Sakura shiver a little as the group walked slowly, with many other people, up the cobblestone walkway towards the mansion. The people around them were obviously rich, or at the very least, very well off. They were decked out in decadent, very fine attire that was too gaudy for Sakura's taste. Even the daimyo of Fire Country didn't dress in such flashy fashions as these people seemed to. Hoards of women and men were floating gracefully, chatting and laughing as if they didn't have a care in the world.

_Well they'll care soon enough_. Sakura thought wryly to herself. This was the part where she made the switch – let her inner take over to kill the bad guys. Of course, her inner couldn't actually physically possess her body, but she was able to handle the mental strain of stripping away a human being's life better than Sakura was, so she wasn't complaining. Mentally, assassinations were hard on Sakura, but she was always able to complete her duty when it came time because she was a shinobi of Konoha, and that was her duty.

Their strategy was simple: Genma and Shisui were going to search the mansion and kill everybody on their list of gang members not in the main ballroom while incapacitating anybody who was in the outer portion of the house that wasn't on their assassination list. Then, when they had cleared the rest of the house, they would drop sleeping gas into the main ballroom. This would simplify picking out the ones they needed to kill and they could remove the innocents from the area easily. Then, they would blow the house up with the gang members inside.

It seemed like one of the best laid plans Sakura had a hand in coming up with. Of course, Itachi had come up with most of it, but she had been the one who was adamant about removing all of the innocent civilians before blowing the place up. Itachi gave her a look that was the equivalent of 'I hadn't thought of that' although she was sure he would have just done it naturally throughout the course of the night.

The group of shinobi was making their way to the front doors, which appeared in sight of when Shisui got a suddenly anxious look on his face. He whispered, "Metal detectors."

Sakura sighed, "We have planned for that. Metal detectors will not sense the weapons hidden in your outfits."

Everybody's posture seemed to relax a bit at the comment, and Sakura internally rolled her eyes. Of course they thought of things like that! Shaking her head, she knew that the boys weren't slighting her team's intelligence in the SWPD – they were just concerned shinobi. As the guards at the front doors checked them for weapons or any other harmful substances – which were all expertly concealed – the group walked slowly into the entrance.

An expansive entry way greeted them; the ovular room was covered in black tiles and decorated with white and gold tapestries that hung from ivory pillars that encircled the room. Directly in front of them was a large stairway that went up to a landing which held two very tall, elaborately carved ivory doors. The doors were opened to reveal the ballroom to the guests that were filtering in from the outside world.

Itachi places Sakura's arm securely in his automatically as the group began to scale the stairs slowly, his mother's teachings about manners most present in his mind. Once again, Sakura's face flushed the slightest pink as she thanked him. Itachi could practically feel Shisui's smirk boring into the back of his neck, but he ignored it. When they reached the top of the stairs, Itachi gave the slightest of nods, indicating that Genma and Shisui should begin their work on the outer realms of the house while Itachi and Sakura scouted the main ballroom. And just like that, they were gone.

Sakura audibly gasped as they entered the ballroom, which Itachi had to admit, was very exquisite. The ceiling was painted the deepest blue of the midnight skies, and was freckled with yellow drops of paint and an elaborately decorated moon in the corner to indicate the sky. He quickly made out many familiar constellations, demonstrating that this sky was that of the winter heavens. A large balcony made up the perimeter of the room, and the ivory pillars that held up the seating spaces were decorated to look like white houses with red roofs. Under the pillars and the balcony were several bars and tables for the guests to dine and drink at. In the center of the ballroom was a large table, elevated off the ground, where their main targets seemed to be eating and drinking. And, finally, at the far end of the room was a large stage where a 16-piece orchestra played softly in the background of the happy chatter and drinking, silhouetted by heavy red curtains that matched the color of the 'roofs' of the buildings that held up the seating areas on the balcony.

"This place is beautiful," Sakura whispered in awe. Itachi merely chuckled at her. Due to clan events, he was used to being in places such as this. In fact, the annual Uchiha Christmas banquet was often held in a hall such as this. However, Sakura was not used to seeing such elegance since such ballrooms simply did not exist in Konoha. If they did, then Sakura had no reason to ever go into one, it seemed. Sakura's cheeks puffed out a bit. "Why're you laughing at me?"

"I'm not," was the simple reply that Itachi gave, but Sakura's pout did not waver. Slowly, he moved his arm so it rested naturally on the small of her back, propelling her forward into the large room. Couples were already dancing to the music while others enjoyed drinks. Sakura's eyes darted all over, from the table in the center where Gorou, his uncle, and several more of their targets sat, to the guards that were stationed on the balcony observing them.

"Twelve on the balcony," she whispered with a bright, fake smile as she grabbed two glasses of champagne and handed one to Itachi.

"There are two at each set of doors except for the bathrooms, which makes six," he said in response while he also scouted for a table. "There are another eight at the table with Gorou and his uncle; that, coupled with the guards at the doors and in the foyer, we are missing approximately fifteen to twenty targets."

"There will undoubtedly be some mixed in the crowed," she replied chirpily, smiling at a couple that greeted them. They finally found a seat at a small table. Itachi pulled her chair out for her, as was the gentlemanly thing to do, before taking his own seat across from her.

"Hn," he agreed while looking around the room slowly, trying to recognize the men from the cards they were given. He was able to pick out a few, but there were still some missing. Hopefully Shisui and Genma would be able to find the others in different parts of the house. There hadn't seemed to be any on the borders of the property, which meant they should have all been in the house somewhere. "We should try to get this done in under an hour. We have a birthday party to attend tomorrow night if I'm not mistaken."

Sakura's eyes lit up. "You're coming?" she asked cheerily.

"Your friend Ino," he began, Sakura blanched, "Insisted."

"She can be like that sometimes," Sakura replied. "Even when she wasn't the ones throwing my party…"

Her voice trailed off and Itachi felt a pang of guilt ring through his chest. He hadn't meant to bring up her deceased parents. A silent prayer went out for something to distract the conversation away from this dreary topic.

As if on cue, there was the slightest hint of radio buzz in his ear coming from the translucent communication device that rested firmly in place. Judging by the slight way Sakura tensed, she had heard it as well.

"_Can you guys read me?_" Genma's voice came through the earpiece.

Sakura pressed the slightest bit of chakra into her finger, and while making it seem like she was resting her chin on her hand lazily, pressed her finger into her ear. "Yes," she replied with a smile.

"_Alright, I've got seven of our men dead who were roaming the hallways, and I've completely blocked off the fourth floor with a genjutsu so that's clear. How're things going on your end, Shisui?_" Genma reported quietly.

Another set of radio fuzz came through their ear pieces before Shisui's slightly more exuberant voice pierced through the haze, "_I got seven as well and the third floor is blocked off. So we should be good to close off the ballroom and snag the entry guards while you two take care of the ballroom with the sleeping gas._"

Itachi nodded a bit and then responded, "Very good. Contact us when you are finished with the entry way and have the ballroom closed off. Make sure that a genjutsu is put in place so that those inside the ballroom do not get suspicious."

"Yes, Taichou," they responded in unison before cutting off their communication devices.

"How're we going to spread the sleeping gas?" Sakura asked quietly.

That earned her a smirk from the Uchiha, who stood gracefully and held his arm out to Sakura, "We are going to dance."

Sakura's gaze went through a myriad of emotions in a matter of seconds. Confusion, horror, delight, anxiety and then resignation all passed through her jade orbs before finally grasping onto Itachi's hand lightly.

"I'm a horrible dancer in places like this," Sakura muttered as Itachi led her to the dance floor dutifully. "I always step on the guy's toes. The only time I didn't completely make a fool out of myself was the time that I danced with Gaara, I mean the Kazekage, at his eighteenth birthday party a few months back."

"You just need the proper lead, Sakura," Itachi replied as he found a suitable spot on the dance floor and turned to her, ignoring the stab of jealousy in his gut at the mention of her dancing with someone else and referring to the Kazekage in such a familiar manner. "I'm sure the Kazekage was suitable, which was why you didn't, as you say, make a complete fool out of yourself."

Sakura let out a weary sigh as Itachi's right hand encased hers in a stern grasp while his other arm tightened around her waist. Her hand automatically went up to his shoulder and she leaned back to gaze into his onyx eyes. She quirked her lips into a little smile, trying to diffuse some of the raw intensity he had been staring at her with. It had been an intensity that she found herself being shown all night, and she couldn't figure out why. However, it was enough to give her butterflies and make her blush, and she really wished he would cut it out because she was a kunoichi for Kami's sake, and he was making her a bumbling, blushing little girl.

"I only danced with him because it was tradition that he dance with a female at his eighteenth birthday, kind of, you know, saying he was now of marriageable age. And he said I was the only female he could tolerate besides his sister, so I was happy to do it. He's shorter than you though," Sakura chatted offhandedly. She hardly noticed the way Itachi had them floating gracefully around the ballroom with his skills. The only other person who she had danced with like this, besides Gaara, was Sasuke at one of his family's parties. It had been the same sort of situation – it was either her, or one of his annoying cousins.

Itachi let the annoying jealousy in his gut diminish at Sakura's explanation, and decided to merely focus on this opportunity to have Sakura in his arms. So many of the things they did on this trip would surely never happen again because of her hoard of protective guard dogs that happened to follow her around back home – also known as Team Seven. Sakura looked up at him and her cheeks flushed again. Really, he only regarded her the way he did because it always seemed to embarrass her, which tinted her cheeks the most complimentary shade of pink.

There was another crackle in his ear. Shisui's voice was whispered, but clear, "_There's a genjutsu up and everybody out here is taken care of. Spread the sleeping gas, my lovelies_!"

Sakura rolled her eyes before slipping her hand into one of the secret compartments of her dress. When it came out, she held a small can with a large button at the top. After pressing some chakra to her nose and Itachi's to make sure that the sleeping gas didn't have an effect on them, she pressed the button and tucked the can into a holster in her leg. In perfect timing, the orchestra began to take up a more cheery, faster paced tune, and Itachi complied by whirling her around the dance floor faster. Soon, the sleeping gas was spread over the entire floor. Since it was translucent, tasteless, and odorless, everybody was fairly confused when people began to drop like flies.

The worried looks on the guards' faces were enough to tell Itachi and Sakura that it was working, so they split off to take care of the targets that weren't being affected as much by the sleeping gas – like Gorou, his uncle, and the guards on the towers.

Sakura jumped onto the balconies swiftly and began taking out the guards that were stationed there while Itachi went for Gorou and his uncle. The drug lord let out one faint cry before falling down in a heap, dead from a kunai to the heart. His uncle put up even less of a fight – dead before he realized what happened. The guards that were surrounding them began to run for the door, but that caught them in the genjutsu that Shisui and Genma had laid out at all of the entrances. The guards stopped dead in their tracks and fell while Itachi swooped behind them, ending their lives. Luckily, most of the innocent civilians were already unconscious from the sleeping gas, so they didn't have to worry about panic. Just as Itachi went to gather them to bring them outside, the last of the balcony sentries fell from the balcony and onto the floor, dead.

Sakura jumped down soon after, a dry smile on her face. She shuddered a bit, clearly not liking this part of her job, before helping Itachi rifle through the people and checking off all the guards they had killed. Genma and Shisui entered the room to help them remove the innocent civilians, apparently having already taken care of any of the kitchen and serving staff that hadn't been in the ballroom when the sleeping gas was unleashed. They were happy to find out they had managed to assassinate every man on their list between the four of them.

After what felt like hours of lugging innocents out of the mansion and a safe distance away onto the front yard, and planting her explosive senbon in perfect areas for destruction, Sakura, Itachi, Shisui, and Genma stood at the bottom of the hill while the mansion exploded and went up in flames. Sakura grinned at her masterpiece and felt a little too much like the Akatsuki member Deidara at her enjoyment in seeing the mansion explode and then collapse.

Genma let out a whoop of victory before pulling out a flask and handing it to Sakura. "A celebration for Sakura's first victory in an ANBU mission. Oh, and it's after midnight, so happy birthday!"

Sakura smiled a little when her other two counterparts wished her a happy birthday as well, but the smile was a little sad because it was also the anniversary of her parent's death. Sometimes, it was hard to be happy.

Itachi seemed to notice and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, which made her smile a little truer and a little less sad.

"Come, let's go home," he finally said.

X

Uchiha Mikoto always wanted a daughter. After giving birth to Itachi, the clan heir, she got pregnant again five years later, after begging Fugaku for months, praying for a girl. However, nine months, four days, and thirteen hours after conception, Uchiha Sasuke was born into the world. Needless to say, he was a boy. That's not to say that Mikoto didn't love Sasuke. On the contrary, Mikoto loved her boys more than anybody else loved their children. Of course, most mothers say that about their children, but Mikoto knew that she was the only one who was right.

But then, miraculously, thirteen years after giving birth to her younger son, her son's young female teammate, sporting newly trimmed short hair appeared at the front door with pleasant jade eyes and a bright, welcoming smile. It was Sasuke's teammate, Haruno Sakura, and she needed a haircut. Sakura had just finished the chunin exams, and she had chopped off her hair in the Forest of Death. However, the jagged cut with the kunai was uneven, and she needed it to be fixed. Since Sakura's own mother wasn't very talented with cutting hair, Sasuke had suggested his own mother smooth it out seeing as she cut Itachi's hair all the time and managed not to butcher it.

After a day of chatting, hair cutting, and some cooking, Mikoto had found her daughter. That was only exasperated when one year later, Sakura's parents both died, and she started spending almost all of her time at the Uchiha compound, and namely, with Mikoto. The Uchiha matriarch became as much of a mother to Sakura as Sakura was a daughter to her.

That's why when Itachi walked down the stairs and into his kitchen, clad in a white dress shirt that wasn't tucked into his dark slacks, he wasn't surprised to see the kitchen table piled with gifts that his mother had bought for Sakura. Mikoto went a little crazy for Sakura's birthday (and Christmas, for that matter) in terms of gifts. And, to add fuel to the fire, Sakura did the same thing for Mikoto on her birthday, Christmas, and his parent's anniversary.

His mother was just carrying the last of the gifts and setting them on the table when Itachi walked into the kitchen. With a sigh, he muttered, "Okaa-san, don't you think you went a little overboard…again? Sakura does not need ten gifts just from you and Otou-san alone."

Mikoto wrinkled her nose at her eldest son, but a wide smile soon covered her face. "I think Sakura will like them and appreciate them," she replied cheerily. "Plus, she got your father and me such an extravagant gift for our anniversary last month that it only seemed right."

Itachi let out another weary sigh, still tired from the mission that he had only returned from a few hours previous, but conceded to his mother. There was no point in arguing with her. "You do realize you get her more gifts for her birthday than Sasuke and I, and father for that matter, receive combined."

"Yes, well Sakura could use some spoiling, Itachi-kun," Mikoto replied after puffing her cheeks out in a pout. "She works so hard, and she no longer has her own parents to spoil her."

Well, Itachi couldn't argue with that logic, so he just began to move the gifts into a pile instead. At that moment, Shisui and Sasuke walked into the room and began helping loading the gifts into their arms. Mikoto bid the boys farewell, asking them to give Sakura a kiss of her, and walked back to the main Uchiha house.

The walk to the party was silent, as most walks with his younger brother and cousin were; the party was being held on the roof of one of the nicer hotels in Konoha. Sasuke muttered something about it probably being extravagant seeing as Ino, Sakura's best friend, planned the entire event. Apparently, she tended to go a little overboard with parties. Considering it was Sakura's big 18th birthday, it would likely be bigger than anything Sasuke had seen. His final words sounded much too like Shikamaru's 'troublesome' when they finally made it to the hotel – seemingly because the roof was already alive with people if the chatter, laughing, and insanely loud music was anything to go by.

As the trio scaled the wall, without dropping a single present, they found that the rooftop was already packed with people. Hanging paper lanterns hung about everybody, and a DJ was in place at the far end of the rooftop. There were tables scattered in a horse shoe shape around a very large dance floor, which already had many people dancing in the middle. Closer to them, there was a large, elaborately decorated wooden table that was about to cave under the weight of the presents that were stacked on top.

And next to that, was Sakura. She was sitting on a chair that was also elevated above the throngs of people. Her mint green dress featured a tight halter-top that fitted her curves to her waist where it flared out and fell just above her knee – the amount of tulle underneath almost making it look like a toned-down tutu. A silver, glittered belt hugged her hipbones, only aiding in accentuating her hour-glass figure. The top of the dress was corseted, and was tied with matching silver strings that happened to be identical to the silver sandals that were tied around her feet and up to her knees. When she turned to them, her cheeks naturally rosy of embarrassment over being the center of attention, they saw her eyelids painted in a light dust of silver and wet, glossed lips that stretched into a wide smile at the sight of the boys making their way to her. Her hair was curled loosely and tied back in a ponytail at the base of her neck and flipped professionally over her left shoulder. To cap off the look, a silver tiara of leaves curved around the bangs that fell playfully into her face and behind her ears. Overall, it gave her the appearance of a young Greek goddess.

"Shisui, Sasuke, Itachi!" she called happily as the men made their way to the kunoichi. Her eyes turned a little confused at the amount of presents in their hands, but she seemed to draw the correct conclusions, "Mikoto-san?"

"Hn," Sasuke replied as he dropped the presents on the floor underneath the table seeing as there was no more free space at the table. "Happy birthday," he muttered before stalking off to find a corner to hide in.

Sakura smiled fondly as she watched her teammate's retreating back. She turned back to say something to Itachi and Shisui when somebody grabbed her around the waist playfully.

"Ah, my cherry blossom. Your dress only helps to exude your youthfulness as always. Please, honor me with a dance on this precious day of yours," Lee cried as he dragged Sakura off towards the dance floor without waiting for her reply.

Sakura merely gave them both an apologetic look before being careened into dancing with Lee. Itachi sighed while Shisui chuckled, "You better go get your woman back from the Green Beast, Itachi. He may just out charm you."

"Shut up, Shisui," Itachi muttered while he walked away to find his younger brother. Like Sasuke, he was not a party person, and he found that he only enjoyed social events in the company of Sakura. He soon found his younger brother in a quiet corner with Hyuuga Neji. Itachi leaned up against the railing of the rooftop and watched the party go on in front of him. No words were spoken between the three clan heirs, as was the way they seemed to like it.

When Sakura finished her dance with Rock Lee, she was soon sought out by many of the men who were attending the party. She danced with Naruto, Inuzuka Kiba, Shisui (who smirked at Itachi the entire time) Genma, Kakashi, Lee again, Naruto again, and again, and one more time after that, Kiba again – who stopped dancing with her after Sasuke shot him a death glare when his hands were dropping a little too low, a group of her girlfriends including Ino, Tenten, Hinata, and Temari of the sand siblings, Kankuro of the sand siblings, and then the Kazekage himself for a slower dance. It made Itachi ponder when an eighteenth birthday party of a Konoha kunoichi was so important that the Kazekage had to leave his post to attend – but he didn't dwell on it too much. The Kazekage had the right to do whatever he wished even if it did make Itachi a little jealous.

The party was a spectacle indeed. It seemed that almost every shinobi of drinking age, including the Hokage, was attending the party. Itachi recognized many nurses and doctors from the hospital. The entire 'Konoha Twelve' as they named themselves was present, along with almost every chunin of drinking age, jounin, jounin sensei, and member of ANBU. This was coupled with the Kazekage, his siblings, Morino Idate (who Itachi was sure was still considered a missing-nin), and several shinobi that Sakura had met in outside countries. She was quite the kunoichi and friend indeed, it seemed.

Finally, it was time for cake and after a very raucous and drunken attempt at singing 'happy birthday,' Sakura blew out her candles and the cake was distributed while Sakura opened up her presents. Itachi and Sasuke watched quietly the entire time with Neji. None of them were very big party people, and Itachi was content to watch the proceedings from where he was. The look of joy and delight on Sakura's face never wavered, and he wondered when she had mourned her parent's death. Of course, she had hours after they arrived home before she needed to get ready for the party. Or perhaps she would go to the cemetery the following day.

When the music and dancing started up again, Sakura began to scan the crowd for somebody in particular. Itachi followed her gaze, wondering who she could be looking for. It was when her eyes met his and a huge smile dazzled her features that he realized she had been looking for him, and it just about made his chest heave in anticipation.

She made her way over to him, dodging in and out of people as she weaved through the crowed. "Have you three been over here all night?" she asked as she finally made her way to the trio of men.

"Hn," Sasuke replied before pushing off of the bar and walking away with his hands in his pockets – right towards an Inuzuka Kiba who had unashamedly leered at Sakura when she had walked through the crowed.

Sakura ignored her befuddlement before turning to Neji. "You should go ask Tenten to dance," she suggested evenly, but her voice left little room for argument. Neji scoffed, but it seemed to merely be in order to hide the small blush that was beginning in his neck. Of course, he began to walk away in the direction of his ANBU teammate.

"You know, teammate relationships are highly frowned upon, Sakura," Itachi said evenly as he watched Neji take Tenten's hand over Sakura's shoulder. She turned to look at the spectacle and grinned at him.

"I know, but Tenten has liked him for years. She deserves to be happy," Sakura replied with a shrug. Then, she turned back to face him and her face automatically blushed. Her words were hesitant and let out in an unsure stutter when she asked, "I-I-I was actually w-wondering if… if youwantedtodancewithme?"

Itachi smirked at her which only made her blush further. He held out his arm to her and they walked towards the dance floor.

Yamanaka Ino knew everything about her best friend. She knew her favorite color, her favorite animal. She knew what her favorite food was. She also knew, although Sakura never admitted as much, that she was in love with Uchiha Itachi. Yamanaka Ino knew everything about everyone. Or at least, just about. That was how she knew that Uchiha Itachi was also in love with her best friend. A lesser kunoichi may miss it, but Ino knew better, and she could see it in the way that the older of the brothers looked at her best friend. The raw emotion that spilled from those oh-so-sexy obsidian depths was too much to deny.

So when she saw Uchiha Itachi holding her best friend's hand, leading her to the dance floor, Yamanaka Ino knew she had to step in. She jumped into the DJ booth and requested a song to play for Sakura, and maybe these two emotionally immature shinobi could finally figure out that they were in love with each other.

As Itachi wrapped his arms around Sakura's waist while she linked her fingers behind his neck, one of her favorite song's began to play loudly from the DJ booth.

"_Today is a winding road that's taking me to places that I didn't want to go_

_Whoa (whoa, whoa, whoa)_

_Today in the blink of an eye I'm holding on to something and I do not know why_

_I tried_

_I tried to read between the lines_

_I tried to look in your eyes_

_I want a simple explanation_

_For what I'm feeling inside_

_I gotta find a way out_

_Maybe there's a way out"_

Sakura bit back her smile and Itachi quirked a brow at her. "This is one of my favorites," she explained easily, not making direct eye contact with him. "Reminds me of someone."

"Who?" Itachi asked quietly, making her look up at him as a blush spread through her cheeks.

"_Your voice was the soundtrack of my summer_

_Do you know you're unlike any other?_

_You'll always be my thunder, and I said_

_Your eyes are the brightest of all the colors"_

Itachi found that he, too, liked this song. Maybe, just maybe, it described the way he felt for her because _her_ eyes were the brightest of all the colors – her eyes were shining with such love all the time that it made his heart clench. As he watched her sway to the song, he began to realize something.

He was tired.

He was tired of not being about to call Sakura his. He was tired of being jealous of other men when it came to the kunoichi. Now, he just needed to find out if perhaps she held some of the same feelings that he held for her.

Because he was tired, and he wanted to be with Sakura.

"_I don't wanna ever love another_

_You'll always be my thunder_

_So bring on the rain_

_And bring on the thunder"_

Sakura smiled at him before sticking out her tongue playfully. "I'll never tell you my secret," she replied snippily, making Itachi openly laugh.

Sakura looked at him like he had grown two heads. She had never really heard him laugh before – chuckle: yes, laugh: no.

"_Today is a winding road_

_Tell me where to start and tell me something I don't know_

_Whoa (whoa, whoa, whoa)_

_Today I'm on my own_

_I can't move a muscle and I can't pick up the phone_

_I don't know (I don't know, I don't know, I don't know)"_

"I could pull rank and force you to tell me," Itachi quipped. The look of horror on her face made him laugh out loud again. "Is it my little brother?"

Once again, the look of pure horror made him laugh as he smiled down at her affectionately. As he made a turn with her he couldn't miss the way Kakashi was glowering at him or the matching looks on Sasuke's and Naruto's faces as he turned her again. Perhaps the worst was the smug look on Shisui's face as he turned away from Sakura's guard. Then he finally turned back to look at Sakura when Shisui started to mouth the words 'kiss her' to him.

"_And now I'm itching for the tall grass_

_And longing for the breeze_

_I need to step outside_

_Just to see if I can breathe_

_I gotta find a way out_

_Maybe there's a way out"_

"I do not like Sasuke," she spat when she finally found words.

"Well then, Sakura, who do you like?" Itachi asked. He found himself wondering if he really wanted to know the answer for it may not be the person he is hoping for.

"_Your voice was the soundtrack of my summer_

_Do you know you're unlike any other?_

_You'll always be my thunder, and I said_

_Your eyes are the brightest of all the colors_

_I don't wanna ever love another_

_You'll always be my thunder_

_So bring on the rain"_

"It's a secret," she muttered.

"Can I have a hint?"

Sakura looked unsure before blurting, "It is an Uchiha."

"_Yeah I'm walking on a tightrope"_

"Shisui?"

"_I'm wrapped up in vines"_

"Noooo…" she replied playfully before sending him a shy smile.

"_I think we'll make it out"_

And then he realized. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. His eyes seemed to go wide, but when he looked back down to Sakura, she was avoiding his gaze.

"_But you just gotta give me time_

_Strike me down with lightning_

_Let me feel you in my veins_

_I wanna let you know how much I feel your pain_

_Today is a winding road that's taking me to places that I didn't want to go_

_Whoa"_

He stayed silent for a moment, trying to decide whether or not it was Uchiha-like to break out in a happy-dance, and then, after deciding it was very much not like an Uchiha to do a happy dance, he made a decision.

"_Your voice was the soundtrack of my summer_

_Do you know you're unlike any other?_

_You'll always be my thunder, and I said_

_Your eyes are the brightest of all the colors_

_I don't wanna ever love another_

_You'll always be my thunder"_

She looked as if she were about to speak when he interrupted her, "Sakura."

It made her heart flutter the way he said her name like that. It was so deep, so sensual that it should be deemed illegal to say her name like that. But it caught her attention and she looked up at him with bright, innocent, trusting eyes.

It was enough to make his heart clench the way she trusted him so much.

"_And I said_

_Your voice was the soundtrack of my summer_

_Do you know you're unlike any other?"_

"May I tell you a secret?" he finally asked.

Sakura nodded, her mouth parted slightly in confusion. He trained his eyes on her lips, especially as she bit and licked them once nervously.

"_You'll always be my thunder_

_So bring on the rain_

_Oh baby bring on the pain"_

It was too perfect an opportunity to miss, but he couldn't help the way his heart pounded heartily in his chest. He could feel her pulse quickening underneath him as she discovered where his gaze was lingering. Itachi leaned his head down to hers, his lips towards hers…

And his lips finally found solace when they met her warm ones.

"_And listen to the thunder…"_

"I like you too."

* * *

AN: It just seemed…right, ne? I hadn't really intended for that to happen, but it seemed so natural. Anyway, please review. The song was Thunder by Boys Like Girls. Thank you for reading and I hope you liked it! I'm sure you loved the fluff.


	9. Hope in Everyone

HEY GUYS, GUESS WHAT, THE BLACKHAWKS WON THE STANLEY CUP. AGAIN!

HELL YES MOFO'S.

AN: Alright, now that my excited ranting about how FRICKIN' AWESOME THE BLACKHAWKS ARE, I'll let you read the chapter.

Please review!

* * *

**The First Time**

**Chapter 8: Hope in Everyone**

* * *

_"And now he's turned into a man, though he thinks just like his mother  
He believes we're all just lovers, he sees hope in everyone."_

* * *

"They've found us."

"Hn?" '_How can you tell? I can't sense anything_'

"It's sort of like a sixth sense."

"Aa." _'That's right, I remember now.'_

She was right – all three members of Team Seven held some sort of supernatural bond that allowed them to sense the others whereabouts when they were approaching. Additionally, they could usually sense the mood that their teammates were in. It spoke of an unbreakable bond that was completely beyond all understanding. It spoke of all the trials they had gone through together and how they had conquered those trials. They were a team that was comprised of an Uchiha heir who was desperately attempting to escape the fate of the Uchiha curse, a kyuubi jinchuriki, and a petite pink-haired kunoichi that could break down mountains with her fists. Perhaps it was their odd assembly because they were a magnet for trouble, but they were always there for each other. Really, it made Itachi a little envious.

One night four years previous, Sasuke had sat down to dinner with his family. Half way through the meal, he stilled completely and his eyes went wide. Then he was off like a lightning bolt through the door as if someone had just screamed his name in horror from somewhere far away. That was the night that Sakura's parents had died. It was as if Sasuke had just _known_ that something was wrong with Sakura and that she needed him. As far as Itachi could remember, that's when their acute awareness of each other began. But it went three ways. Itachi had even experienced Naruto doing something similar before. He would never believe it if he hadn't seen it happen so many times.

"They're coming for you," she whispered evilly from her place next to him. The warm spring air and sun was beating down on them, but they had found a shaded area on a cliff behind training ground three where they had been working. It was the same cliff where she had found him the night of their housewarming party, and it was their small hiding place from the rest of the world – namely her team. The soft breeze flew around the cliff and struck them a little harder than it would on flat land, but it was okay because it was warm and it was spring, and with their shoulders and hips touching as they sat next to each other, they were warm.

Itachi had files and ANBU mission reports to go through while Sakura was pouring over back-logged paperwork from the hospital. It was one of the few times they could sneak away just to be together, but it seemed that there was always more work to do. In the entire month that had passed since her birthday, Itachi had been sent out on several missions, and Sakura had begun her ANBU training under an advisor. So their time together was limited, but they took the small opportunities to see each other; even if they had work to finish up.

Sometimes just being next to her was enough.

The past month had been a whirlwind of fending off questions from various sources, avoiding Hatake Kakashi like the plague, and sneaking minutes with her, but Itachi wouldn't have it any other way. Because he finally _had_ her. Immediately following the party where he kissed her – like the next morning, Itachi was sent on a mission for a week, much to his eternal relief yet consternation. He left her wondering what they were to each other, left her confused, and when he returned, slipped through her apartment window while she was making dinner, she ripped him a new one – yelling at him for leaving her muddled and doubting the entire time. Finally, to stop her rant, he leant down and kissed her full on the lips. She scoffed when he asked her if that cleared things up for her, but she blushed then, and smiled, and he kissed her again.

When he returned, he saw Sasuke for the first time. His younger brother simply glared at him since they were in their house, and it was just the two brothers – Shisui having been sent on a long-term Akatsuki reconnaissance mission. No, Sasuke would not confront Itachi alone. He would wait until Naruto and Kakashi were with him.

The Hokage had taken the news of their budding relationship surprisingly well. When she gave him the mission report the morning after her birthday, she had just graced him this knowing smirk the entire time. However, he did not fail to hear the idle threat in the way she spoke. Her final words to him were along the lines of '_if she gets hurt, you'll be demoted to chunin so fast your head will spin._' But Itachi had no intentions of doing any such thing.

Mikoto was thrilled beyond belief and any form of rational – there was a surprise. In fact, the woman had gone teary-eyed and blessed the gods that her son wasn't going to die alone. Sakura, in turn, busted out laughing the middle of the family dinner where they announced that they were a couple. Sasuke scowled, clenching his fists, and excused himself form the family dinner to return home. Fugaku seemed pleased as well. He never showed it, but he had a soft spot for Sakura and he approved of the coupling.

The only people who didn't seem terribly pleased with the match were Team Seven; them and the fan-girls, of course.

Itachi wasn't horribly shocked by their discontentment, but he could handle his otouto and Naruto. It was Kakashi he was mostly worried about. Save the Hokage, Kakashi was probably the only ninja in Konoha who could kill him, hide his body, and go on like nothing ever happened. And the copy-ninja would do that. Itachi was painfully aware of his paternal instincts towards Sakura, and he knew that Kakashi had driven off suitors for the young female in the past. Being an Uchiha, though, Itachi was painfully committed and he would not let anyone change his decision. However, there was no point in causing problems when they were not necessary. He would have to make a mental note not to be alone with Kakashi anytime soon. It could mean his ultimate demise. But once again, she was worth the constant paranoia.

Their newly found relationship seemed to make her happier than ever, and he couldn't understand how _he_ managed to make her that happy. Her smile was larger than ever before, her eyes brighter, and they were only like that when she looked at him. Whatever he was doing was working, though, and he just was happy he could make her happy. Their relationship might not be commonplace because he wasn't normal, and she certainly was extraordinary, but they found their ways to make it work.

"I should go," she finally stated as she shoved her files into her folders and began to clean off her rumpled clothing.

"Hn?" _'You're really going to sick your guard dogs on me?'_

"Don't you think it's time you just got this over with? They'll be tracking you until they can have words with you," she replied with a nonchalant shrug. "Plus, it's just Naruto and Sasuke. Kakashi is on a mission with Gai-sensei for a while."

Itachi let out a bit of a relieved sigh even though it was inaudible. Sakura heard it and laughed. "You'll be fine. They'll probably just threaten to kill you or something. But I know you can take them."

She winked at him as she stood up and collected her folders. Itachi was still sitting against the tree. Realizing she was leaving, he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her back down, effectively scattering the papers out of her folders. His lips met hers in a chaste kiss when she landed in an ungraceful heap on his lap. When he pulled back, he couldn't help but smile. Her face was bright red from embarrassment – something it did almost every time they had kissed since her birthday. That included the kiss on her birthday as well. He had pulled back from their first kiss to find her cheeks such an alarming shade of red, he was sure she was going to pass out.

"I have a mission tomorrow," he stated.

Her eyes dawned in comprehension and her face sunk a bit. "How long?" she asked dejectedly, wriggling herself off of his lap and gathering her files once more.

"Only a few days," he replied evenly. When she had finally gathered her folders for, hopefully, the last time, she scooted over to him once again. The sad look in her eyes made him think for a moment, not wanting to leave her upset because of his mission. Would she always be that sad when he left? He certainly missed her when he had to go away. What would he do when she left for a mission? So far, she had been too busy with training for the ANBU exams and her work at the hospital to take any missions, but he was sure he would be worried sick about her the entire time she was gone, especially now that she was taking more dangerous missions. He mentally shook his head. Sakura was a strong kunoichi, and she had her team. Those boys would rather suffer a thousand deaths than see harm come to Sakura, and that actually brought Itachi quite a bit of comfort. But that didn't mean he still wouldn't be worried.

That brought him back to the present, staring into melancholy emerald eyes and a small, fake smile plastered on his girlfriend's face, "I'll stop by tomorrow morning before you leave for work to say goodbye."

Her face immediately lit up, a small hint of excitement shining in her eyes, and a real grin on her face. Once again he found himself marveling that such a short sentence and such a simple promise to see her once more could excite her that much. She leaned in and kissed him on the lips so forcefully that he was actually surprised. This had been the first time that she had initiated a kiss. Apparently she realized this as well because when she pulled back, her face was shining pink again.

"I'll see you later!" she squeaked. With a few hand signs and another smile, she disappeared in a flurry of smoke and cherry blossoms.

Just then, the two brats, the two banes of his existence, threw themselves into the clearing. Naruto was huffing from their run, and Sasuke's eyes were glowing red with the Sharingan.

"Where is she? What'd you do with her? We know she was here!" Naruto began shouting at him, demanding answers. Itachi merely tilted his eyebrow before returning his gaze to a mission report that Neji had handed him that morning languidly. He would not humor their immaturity.

"Aniki," Sasuke stated evenly while returning his eyes to their normal obsidian color. "We need to talk."

Itachi motioned for them to sit in front of him, steeling himself for the upcoming conversation that was bound to be fickle and awkward. He put the mission report that was in his hand down and focused his attention on his brother. Naruto was pacing nervously behind him, clenching and unclenching his fists, seemingly debating if he wanted to attack Itachi or not.

Sasuke sighed, apparently looking forward to the upcoming conversation as much as Itachi did. "Look aniki," he began frankly. "Let's start by saying that I don't disapprove of this match."

That took Itachi completely off guard. He was sure he was going to get some sort of furious lecture about staying away from their precious Sakura-chan. Naruto didn't seem to agree with Sasuke, thought, when he shouted, "I do! I disapprove of the match!"

"Baka," Sasuke muttered while rubbing his hand through his hair and over his face. "I know you'll take care of her, and I know she could do worse – a lot worse. I've _seen _her do worse. You're my brother so I may be biased, but I trust her with you. However, there are other things to consider…"

He trailed off for a moment as he looked to be a mix of uncertainty and anger. Conversations for Sasuke, like most Uchiha men, did not come easy. They were taught from a young age to be obedient, silent, and repressive in order to be the most effective shinobi possible. Expressing ones feelings was not something that happened very often. Sasuke's face contorted for a moment to find words, but Naruto quickly came to his rescue.

"Look teme-number-one, Sakura-chan may act all tough and happy all the time, but she's got some problems," he muttered, coming to a standstill behind Sasuke to stare Itachi down. Itachi felt the urge to roll his eyes for the briefest of moments. Of course he knew that. It did not require explaining. But he didn't interrupt and allowed Naruto to continue, "And she works really hard to keep away from her problems. Like she's married to her job, or something. Anyway, she's sensitive. I can't tell you how many times teme-number-two over here had made her cry just 'cause he said something stupid and insensitive to Sakura-chan."

"The dobe is going on a tangent, but he's right. Sakura pours her heart into everything. It's what makes her such a horrible, yet such a formidable, shinobi. She's runs on emotions even though we are taught never to show our emotions. However, her emotions relate directly to her fighting style and prowess, which makes here disturbingly strong. This filters into the rest of her life though," Sasuke murmured with the thoughtful look dawning his face once again. "Let me give you an example. How long have you…had feelings…for Sakura?"

Itachi thought this through for a moment. When had his feelings for Sakura changed? He supposed it was probably the day she metabolized the alcohol in his system when she was sixteen. It had been the first time he had recognized her as anything other than his little brother's chunin teammate. However, that had simply been physical attraction back then. He supposed it had taken time after that for his physical attentions towards her to morph into something bigger. It took him spending more time with her to realize that he was compatible with her in _that _way. But it had been a while. He supposed that after that day things were certainly different. He found himself jealous of other men who garnered the girl's attention. He also reveled in the attention she gave him and enjoyed her company profusely.

"At least a year?" he finally conceded although he wasn't sure on the exact timeline of everything. "But more so in the past six months."

Sasuke sighed as if that had been the answer he had been expecting. "Alright," he said. "That sounds about right. But that's the thing with Sakura. When she finds something she covets, she gives it her all. Sakura's been in love with you since she was five."

"Five?" Itachi questioned. He certainly remembered their first meetings. It's not every day that one meets a child with pink hair, but it had been such an inconsequential meeting at the time. He hadn't really thought all that much about it. Had her feelings really been so…continuous?

"Of course," Naruto interrupted his thoughts, "It was just a childhood crush at first. She was only five. But it grew into something more over the years. Sakura-chan has always had a soft spot for you. Ever since you rescued us from the chunin exams especially."

That was around the time that they had started seeing more of each other. Sasuke formed a special bond with his teammates after that particular ordeal, and he began inviting them over more and more. Naruto's apartment was too small for them to spend time together, and Sakura found her parents much too embarrassing to have the boys over. So most of their spare time was spent at the Uchiha compound or causing trouble in town, which also meant that Itachi saw more and more of the rosette. Once her parents died, Sakura became a relatively permanent fixture around the house, even going as far as to stay with them for several weeks while she saved up money for her own apartment. He supposed it couldn't be helped that any childhood crush that she may have formed would have blossomed under such a setting. Many mornings he would help Sakura and Sasuke train before going on missions, and then they would eat dinner together if he was home. Now that he reflected, they saw a lot more of each other in a rather rabid span of time.

It was a bit ironic that it had taken him so long to catch up because he was under the impression that Sakura had spent a good deal of her life looking at her teammates back. But now she was strong, now she was sure of herself, and she knew exactly what she had wanted – just like she had when she went to the Godaime asking for an apprenticeship. But Itachi had caught up and now Sakura knew of his feelings for her, and he wasn't going to let her go. He could now grasp Sasuke's and Naruto's concern. They weren't concerned that he would break her heart purposely – they were concerned that he wasn't aware of what he was getting into and break her heart accidentally. Of course, he had no such intentions. He was nearly twenty-three, and although he hadn't had a serious relationship yet, he merely believed it was because he hadn't found the right person. Most of the women who were eligible and up to Uchiha standards just wouldn't do – they were usually too fan-girlish to ever garner Itachi's attentions. Now, though, he gathered that he had found the perfect woman to form a bond with. He wasn't about to stop this relationship from becoming what he hoped it would.

Being an Uchiha meant being certain before you took any serious leap, and he was no different. Sakura wasn't the type to jump into a relationship unless she was certain of her feelings as well, so there shouldn't be too much to worry about.

"Your concern is understood," Itachi finally stated, "And unnecessary."

Sasuke was an Uchiha, and Sasuke understood Itachi, so he nodded his head in comprehension and stood up to walk away. "Alright," he finally stated. Naruto looked between the two brothers, not understanding the silent conversation that was going on. But Sasuke finally finished, "There is nothing we can do to protect you from Kakashi, though. Best of luck."

X

She was standing by her stove, hands flipping the spatula in her hand, when he jumped into her living room window gracefully. Dawn was barely peaking over the horizon, and the spring air was crisp with a bitter chill that alluded to the fact that it wasn't summer quite yet. Her voice filled the room as she hummed a tune to herself, dancing a little in her medic uniform.

"Your omelet is on the table. I'll be right in," she said chirpily without turning around to even acknowledge him. He let out a deep chuckle before moving into the small dining area that was attached to her kitchen. A glass of orange juice, an omelet, and some cooked pickles were already sitting on the table when he slid into the chair. Only moments later, Sakura pranced into the room with her own glass and plate. "When'd you say you'd be back?" she asked.

"I should return by Monday evening," he replied smoothly, biting into the first bit of his omelet. If there was one good thing that came out of Sakura's parents dying, it was that she had to learn how to cook for herself – and whom else would she learn from but Uchiha Mikoto? Sakura rivaled his mother in terms of culinary prowess only because Mikoto had taught Sakura everything the Uchiha matriarch knew about cooking. He reveled in the amazing tastes of a simple omelet that she could create.

Sakura could tell that he liked the omelet. He would close his eyes for a moment after every bite, and the food stayed in his mouth a few moments longer than necessary. A smile spread across her face before she dug into her food as well. Damn she was a good cook. "What's the mission?" she asked in order to make conversation.

The arched eyebrow she received in response was the only answer she needed – he couldn't tell her. She huffed a bit in exasperation, but she understood his need for anonymity. It could mean the difference between life and death for him. She was surprised, however, when he chose to respond.

"I'm meeting an informant. That's all I can tell you," he said easily. Sakura felt a little bit of relief wash over her. This mission wasn't some insanely dangerous assassination or tracking mission. Sure, it was probably more dangerous than any missions she's been on alone, but by Itachi's standards, it was more like a break. "What will you do while I'm gone?"

"I'm going to train with Yamato-taichou some more," Sakura replied. Yamato, or Tenzou as he is called in ANBU, was her ANBU practical trainer who she would be working with for the next few months. She was glad to be taught by someone she was familiar with. Yamato had taken over Team Seven with Sai for a few months when Sasuke went to train with both Kakashi and Anko, just as his teammates had done with their respective shishous. "He also wants me to do some training with Kurenai-sensei since I'm a genjutsu type, and it will help me during the exams. He says a big difference between the ANBU exams and the jounin exams is that the ANBU exams uses S and A-ranked jutsu like really crazy genjutsu. He said that once, the entire ANBU exam was an elaborate genjutsu, and nobody passed, and he wants me to know how to combat and create such jutsu."

"Or," Itachi interjected, "I could train you in genjutsu."

Sakura looked at him, baffled. "You would?" she asked. Itachi was easily the most renowned genjutsu specialist in Konoha. Not even Kurenai-sensei, who was very, very good, could capture Itachi in a genjutsu for too long. Sakura had caught to two sparring _just_ using genjutsu once, and it had been breathtaking. Both of them stood there with looks of pure concentration on their faces while chakra was being thrown about wildly. There was something scarier about that sparring match than any taijutsu fight that Sakura had seen because you couldn't _see_ anything. You didn't know what was going on in the fight. All you could see was the way Itachi would wince and Kurenai's breathing would become harsher. It was beautifully disturbing.

"Hm."

Sakura beamed. She had never considered asking her boyfriend for help because she didn't want to ask for special treatment. Additionally, Itachi was already so busy, she didn't think that he would have time to train her. "I'll train with Kurenai-sensei first so I don't embarrass myself!"

"There's really no need for that," Itachi replied. Now that he was done with his omelet, he stood to take his leave. Sakura stood after him and walked up to him, her face alight with something akin to anticipation, excitement, and a little bit of anxiety. "I'll see you when I return home."

Sakura smiled and took a step closer. Itachi did the rest. Putting one hand at the base of her neck and the other around her waist, he pulled her to him and tilted her head so he could angle it better. His lips met hers in a soft yet passionate kiss. Sakura melted, her body flushing against his as on arm wrapped around his ribs to clutch onto his shoulders while the other ended tangled in his hair. It was a far more intimate embrace than they had experienced so far, and Itachi felt a surge of heat rush through him as his heart beat began to accelerate and adrenaline coursed through him. As her lips moved against his, the kiss became a little harder and a little more passionate.

Itachi slipped his tongue from his mouth and traced her bottom lip, taking things further than they ever had in the span of their month-long relationship (despite the fact that he had really only spent about half that time in Konoha). Tentatively, Sakura's mouth opened for him to explore. He was holding her tighter now, trying to close any distance between them even though there was none. Heat surged through his entire body when she surprisingly emitted a noise from the back of her mouth that sounded like a moan to him. The desire for her was getting the best of him; his body taking on a life of its own as her heady scent and touch flooded him. In a flurry of passionate kisses and tongue and pressing closer, it surprised him that he heard the front door knock at all.

"Oh Sa-ku-ra, it's time for work!" came a sing-song voice from the other side of the door. Itachi reluctantly pulled back when he heard a key slip into the door and twist. Apparently Ino had a key to Sakura's apartment. Sakura, for one, was wondering why she bothered to announce herself and knock in the first place. Usually Ino just barged in without warning, but her befuddlement was answered when the door cracked open just enough for Ino's voice to sing once again. "Are you two decent? That's right; I can sense your man-candy in there."

"Man candy?" Itachi echoed in an amused voice. That was a new one. Sakura just turned to him and gave him a lopsided grin. But her chest was still heaving, and her delicious lips were swollen, and it took all of his willpower not to attack her with a barrage of kisses once again. He leaned down and gave her another kiss on the lips, bidding his goodbye, before slipping out of the window as Ino hopped into the apartment.

Leaving the village a little later than he wanted was worth it, he decided, as he slipped out the village and began to take the road west towards Ame.

It was a little over a day's walk from Konoha to the border town where he would be meeting his informant – the same one he had been meeting once every few months since he was eighteen years old. Only the Godaime Hokage knew of his inside with the Akatsuki. In return for the information he gave her, she did not pester or punish him when he refused to tell her where he was keeping Orochimaru's ring. Nobody could know that – it was safest to only put himself in danger.

This didn't come without payment to his informant, though. His friend in the Akatsuki was currently in the middle of peace-talks, through Itachi, with the Godaime. The overall goal was for him to escape the Akatsuki and seek refuge in Konoha until the rest of them could be killed. After that, he would be granted clemency to live in Fire Country conceded that he didn't try to do anything to harm the nation. It amused Itachi greatly to know that one of the Akatsuki had fallen in love with a young female on the other side of Fire Country, near the shore, and that's why he wanted to badly to escape. However, he got the feeling that many of the Akatsuki weren't in the organization by choice.

He had met his particular friend, if you could call him that, when he had shown up in Konoha when Itachi was thirteen. The member had asked Itachi to join the organization to be his partner. Of course, Itachi had refused, but the member was not deterred. He returned several times after that, stating that there was just something he liked about Itachi and he found 'the kid' amusing. Itachi wasn't sure if he liked being referred to as 'kid' by the informant, even now, but he actually enjoyed the man's company despite the fact the he was an S-class criminal.

He stepped into the secluded clearing several miles outside of Rain Country where their meetings usually took place. He didn't have to wait very long, though. The light flare of familiar chakra was what told Itachi that his acquaintance was in the area and intended on meeting up with him. Itachi gave the smallest burst of his own chakra to reveal his location, before preparing for a fight. It had never come to that, but he was precariously near enemy territory, and it didn't do well to be unprepared.

There was a muffled grunt from the edge of the forest just before a large figure in a black and red cloak stepped into the clearing. Pulling off the thicket hat that adorned his blue hair, Hoshigaki Kisame grinned at Itachi.

"Hey, kid!"

X

"I made botamochi," Sakura called out as she stepped into the Uchiha main house. The passionate argument going on between Naruto and Sasuke – undoubtedly about something stupid – could be heard from her place at the front door. Mikoto's head popped out of the kitchen and into the hallway to find the source of the voice, her friendly face beaming at Sakura.

"Hello Sakura-chan. Thank you for bringing dessert!" she called. Sakura walked into the kitchen where she could see Naruto and Sasuke bickering in the dining room. Fugaku was sitting in his normal place at the head of the low table, a vein in his temple beginning to pulsate. This was no doubt due to Naruto's boisterous yelling and Sasuke's immature, snide comments. There were two pieces of paper sitting on the table, one in front of each of the boys respectively, which seemed to be object of the debate.

"What are you two arguing about?" Sakura sighed as she sat down the dessert she made and went into the dining room, folding her arms across her chest annoyance. Fugaku looked almost relieved at the interruption and seemed to pass a grateful glance her way. She bowed lightly, "Fugaku-sama."

Fugaku greeted her, but with the attention off of them for a mere moment, the boys went back to bickering immediately. "No, don't put that on there!" Naruto cried out as Sasuke scribbled something down on the paper in front of him. Naruto was glaring murderously at his own paper, comparing his responses to Sasuke's.

"What are you two doing?" Sakura asked, sighing in frustration.

"Filling out our applications to ANBU," Sasuke replied shortly. The process in getting into ANBU was a little tedious for those who were not recommended by a jounin sensei, an ANBU official, or another delegate within Konoha. First, they would have to fill out an application. If the application was accepted, they had to attend a practical; meaning they went into a room with a whole bunch of ANBU captains and show their skills in genjutsu, taijutsu, and ninjutsu in the matter of five minutes. If they passed that, then they were given an ANBU practical instructor, like how Yamato was instructing Sakura, and they trained. If their ANBU instructor felt they were ready, they would then be allowed to take the ANBU exams the next time they were given. Those who were recommended by someone, such as Sakura was, were automatically given an ANBU instructor and were guaranteed to take the ANBU exams whether their instructor thought they were ready or not. Of course, taking the exams when your instructor says you're not ready would be foolish – at least, that's what Sakura thought.

"So you guys are going to apply, huh?" Sakura asked as snatched the paper out of Naruto's hands, reading over the questions thoroughly. He hadn't written anything down yet. Probably because he wanted to be sure of what to write before he ruined the application.

"Yes. Not all of us have the Godaime Hokage to recommend us," Sasuke replied bitterly.

Sakura merely smiled. "If you're having trouble figuring out what to write, why don't you just ask Itachi or Shisui to help you fill it out?" she asked.

Sasuke scoffed. "Itachi wouldn't help," he rebuked. "Unless…someone he was _close_ to asked him for pointers."

Sakura rolled her eyes when she understood where his implications were lying. "I'm not going to seduce my boyfriend into helping you with the ANBU applications! Ask him yourself!" she hissed.

Fugaku actually chuckled at that comment, forcing Sakura to internally concede that she had forgotten he was there. What would have been a very awkward conversation quickly turned into a pleasant one when Mikoto whisked into the dining room with food. Sakura helped her serve dinner and tea, and the group began eating the delicious meal happily, all previous squabbles being forgotten about.

"Sakura-chan, do you know when Itachi was supposed to return?" Mikoto asked casually as they finished off their dinners.

"He said he was supposed to be back sometime this evening," Sakura replied. She hadn't even realized that Monday had come so quickly with all the training she had been doing. All day Friday had been spent with Yamato, Saturday with Kurenai-sensei, and she worked at the hospital on Sunday. Today had been her only day off so she was enjoying a 'family dinner' at the Uchiha main house despite the fact that most of the 'family,' i.e. Shisui and Itachi, weren't present. She shrugged, "But it isn't abnormal for these missions to run a little long."

Mikoto nodded her head in understanding. Sakura began to pull plates off the table with Mikoto, dumping them into the sink and grabbing the plate of botamochi she had brought along with serving plates and tea. Mikoto set the botamochi down on the table as Sakura brought in the teapot and some cups. When her pager began to go off, the one that hospital staff issued for on-call doctors, she inwardly groaned. It was supposed to be her day off, dammit. She looked down at the black little screen and red the message. '911 ANBU4 CAP CD:9'

Her mind went through the code: emergency, ANBU squad 4, captain, code 9 – meaning the person was a breath away from death… ANBU squad four…captain…

The breath caught in her throat, the blood draining from her face as the teapot hit the ground, splashing as the hot liquid scalded her and the porcelain cut her bare feet. She couldn't care less, though.

"Sakura-chan, what's wrong?" Naruto yelped in surprise, jumping up. Mikoto was already rushing to clean up the mess, but Sakura paid her no mind as she sprinted out of the house, running faster than she ever had before.

X

He was late.

The sun had long since set on Konoha, but he was approaching rapidly. His talks with Kisame had gone on longer than usual, but there was a lot of information to get through. Apparently the Akatsuki had also lost Akasuna no Sasori's ring when he died three years prior, and they were looking for that now as well. It should take the heat off of him for a while, but it meant the Godaime Kazekage was in for a few spies being sent into his village. That would not do. The last time there had been spies in Suna, Gaara had died, after all.

Kisame had admitted that they didn't know where Sasori's ring was, and they were assuming it was with his grand-uncle, the brother to the acclaimed medic, Chiyo. Kisame had just asked Itachi to keep his ears open for him because if Kisame could come up with some answers, then he was more likely to hold onto his position within the Akatsuki. He would also look less suspicious. Itachi was sure he was already catching heated questions as to where he ran off to every month. Most of the time, though, Kisame was seeing his girlfriend on the shores of Fire Country, but other times he was meeting with Itachi.

As Itachi neared the looming gates of his home village, something unsettling coursed through him. He couldn't quite explain it, but something was wrong, very, very wrong. Indeed, he assumed as he approached the gates, something must be terribly wrong. Hyuuga Neji was standing in the middle of the gates, his intense gaze fixed on Itachi. His mouth was set in a grim line, and although his forehead was hidden, he could see the crease in it by the way his eyes were tilted.

Before Itachi could question what was going on, Neji spoke, "Aburame Muta is dead."

Itachi gulped, a fresh wave of pure, unadulterated _fear_ coursing through him. In a voice that was much too quiet and much too weak, he croaked, "What about Inuzuka Hana…Shisui."

Neji gave a great sigh, "You need to go to the hospital."

He burst through the doors to the room where he was instructed to wait less than three minutes later. His mother, father, and brother, along with Naruto were sitting in chairs scattered across the room. Also in the room was Hana's brother, Kiba, and mother. Surprisingly, though, there was another man in the room who Itachi did not expect to see.

"Itachi," the man greeted. Uchiha Kagami was sitting in a chair, legs nervously twitching in anxiety. Shisui was the spitting image of his father, and it nearly pained Itachi to look at him now, especially since he had been the one to send Shisui on this mission. The unveiled fear in the man's eyes was suffocating, and Itachi found himself wondering if Fugaku would outwardly express his fear if it were Sasuke or Itachi lying on the table in the other room.

Everybody in the room was looking around nervously. Mikoto was biting her lip, Fugaku looked more serious than ever, Sasuke was paler than humanly possible, and Naruto looked like he was ready to jump out of his skin. Not to mention the Inuzukas, who seemed to be in their own world of fear and anxiety.

The door to the operating room where Shisui was currently being worked on was beyond a short hallway that was attached to the waiting room. Inuzuka Hana's operation room was adjacent to that door. There was a flurry of staff running in and out, and all Itachi could do was stare down at the father of his best friend.

"Kagami-oji-san," Itachi greeted weakly. He looked around the room expectantly, waiting for someone to tell him _what the hell had happened_.

The answer came from the busty blond Hokage that burst into the room, nearly colliding with Itachi. "Ah, you're here," she greeted frostily. "I just had to notify Aburame Muta's family of his death. The seal on his arm destroyed his body, at least that's what Hana told us before she passed out. They were attacked by missing-nin on their way back from their reconnaissance mission, but that's all we could gather from her. Shisui was worst off, it seems. He apparently did everything he could to protect his team. If it weren't for his body flicker technique, they wouldn't have even gotten this far. He literally used the last of his chakra to transport himself and Hana to the front gates."

"Why aren't you working on them? Why aren't you with Shisui?" Itachi asked instantly, staring the Hokage dead in the eye.

To his surprise, her lip quirked upward a bit. "Sakura insisted on working on Shisui," she replied, her tone almost amused. "Came crashing in here, threatening anyone who got in her way, and took over as lead surgeon in the matter of a minute. Shizune is with Hana."

His next words were cut off by the door to Shisui's examination room slamming open. A male medic stuck his head out, the relief on his face evident when he caught a glimpse of the Hokage. "Hokage-sama, Sakura-senpai requires your assistance."

"She should have plenty of help," the Godaime replied a little offhandedly as she walked to the door.

The medic paled a bit before glancing back into the room. "She made two of the nurses cry…again. It seems she is more…hot-blooded than normal," he remarked quietly.

Itachi was sure he heard something akin to a growl come from the operating room, and it sounded startlingly like Sakura.

"Well then, can't have you short staffed now, can we?" Tsunade agreed, stepping into the operating room with a small smile adorned on her face. Moments later, two nurses came walking out of the room, clutching onto each other as tears fell down the cheeks.

"She's…so…nice…most of the time," one sniffed. The other nodded her head in agreement as they made their way out of the waiting room.

"Sakura-chan is scary when she's in surgery," Naruto commented weakly.

Nobody responded, but everyone silently agreed with the blond nin. But for now, all they could do was wait.

* * *

AN: Alright, there's that chapter. I was suffering from serious writers block, but then I started on the sequel to Lemon Juice, and it gave me inspiration. The plot for this chapter spilled onto the page in the matter of three sessions (most chapters take me four or five). So I hope you liked it. We got some Itachi-Sakura action, and the main plot for the rest of the story was actually introduced. I'll let your foreshadowing abilities think of what's going to happen next.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!

Please review!


	10. Skies Are Gray

AN: Here's chapter 9. So I work in retail, and it's almost August, meaning I will be a walking, talking zombie for the next month. Don't expect too much out of me when it comes to updating for the next month. I apologize in advance.

Oh, and let me apologize for the horrible spelling and grammar mistakes in my last chapter. I went through and tried to fix the ones I could find. Additionally, seeing as I just completed a ten hour shift, I apologize for any mistakes in this chapter. I will go back and catch them when I can see straight in the morning. Thank you for your patience.

Please review! They inspire me, and they make me write more. Thank you for reading and reviewing!

* * *

**The First Time**

**Chapter 9: Skies are Gray**

* * *

_"And even though she moved away, we always get calls from our daughter  
She has eyes just like her father's, they are blue when skies are gray."_

* * *

Time passed slower than usual.

But that was to be expected when one returns to the village to find out that his very best friend had been attacked and nearly killed. It didn't help that he had been sitting in the very same spot for the past eight hours without moving much. How did surgery last eight hours? What could they possibly be doing to him for _eight_ hours? His Sharingan was activated, staring at the lone door that hid his cousin and best friend.

Naruto and the Inuzukas had left hours ago. Naruto had a small solo mission in the morning, and after promising to visit the moment he returned, left for the night in order to get some rest before he reported for duty in the early morning hours. Hana had been declared stable about two hours after Itachi's arrival at the hospital. Her family couldn't visit her until morning, so they left to get some rest.

Oh, how he wished he could do the same. He had raced home from the borders of Ame since he was already late returning home, so he had been short of sleep as it was. There was no way he could sleep now that his cousin's life was in very real danger.

At some point after Naruto left, Sasuke dozed off into a light slumber. Mikoto had also fallen asleep against her husband's shoulder, and in one of his few moments of filial candidness, Fugaku allowed her to stay there, surprising Itachi, who had expected his usually cold father to lightly remove Mikoto. It was possibly the most affectionate gesture Itachi had ever seen his father and mother share in public. They even kept their physical contact in front of their sons to a minimum, even though Itachi had seen them share small moments in privacy when they thought no one was looking – a kiss here, a hug there, an affectionate touch of the shoulder or the face. His father had a newspaper splayed on his lap, but Itachi could see that his eyes weren't focused on the page. Instead, they were fixated on his younger cousin, Shisui's father. Uchiha Kagami was staring at the door that hid his son from his view with startling focus and determination – as if his will alone would keep his precious only child alive.

But he didn't need to rely on only his will, Itachi knew. He had Sakura fighting for Shisui as well as the Godaime Hokage, and her other trusted apprentice, Shizune. The Godaime's older apprentice had taken a fairly short break after finishing her work on Hana, and then ran into Shisui's operating room after Sakura sent another medic, a male this time, out of the room crying.

Itachi's eyes focused on the door again. He could feel Sakura's fierce, determined chakra in the room, pushing, coursing through her veins as she fought hard for the life of his dear cousin. It was rather mesmerizing. The flow of her chakra was tightly controlled, pushing out of her in even bouts. Every once in a while, most likely when there was a particularly difficult wound to be healed, she would push out a little extra chakra to move everything along. However, her stores were dwindling to dangerously low levels because of her over use. No one, not even the Godaime, could work for eight hours while using chakra constantly without taking a break. But Sakura had, and she was going to pay for it dearly if she continued the way she had been for so long.

It was another twenty minutes before Sakura's chakra dropped off completely, startling everybody in the room out of their thoughts and slight slumbers. Sasuke grunted as his eyes opened, obsidian orbs flying wildly throughout the room as if they were under attack all of a sudden. He reacted quite strongly, which wasn't surprising, due to the deep connection between the younger Uchiha and his pink-haired friend and teammate. Itachi was apparently not the only one focusing on the young medic's chakra. Not long after, though, there was a loud bang as the Godaime Hokage pushed the door to the waiting room open.

"Uchiha!" she hollered as she looked decisively into the waiting room. Five pairs of onyx eyes watched her attentively. "Oh, there are five of you. Well, this has never happened before," she commented wryly, a mirthful smile on her lips from the small irony. "Little Uchiha, it's happened again. Take her to her office."

Sasuke glowered at the woman, a disgruntled scowl crossing over his brooding features, clearly not approving of her choice of description, but he stood and slunk into the operating room anyway with a knowing look on his aloof face. Only seconds later, he reappeared with a crumpled heap of pink hair, and thin, frail body in his steady, muscled arms. Itachi watched as Sasuke carried the unconscious kunoichi out of the room and down the hall towards her office with a grudgingly annoyed look on his face. Sakura had clearly put her all into that surgery. His thoughts of his girlfriend, unconscious only for the sake of his best friend, were interrupted by the Hokage giving a wary sigh.

"She's going to feel that in the morning," she commented. The remaining Uchihas stared at the Godaime, waiting for the news. "Shisui is very lucky. I don't think I could have saved him, and you're lucky it was Sakura who had taken over as the head surgeon because she's obstinate to the point of insanity. If not for her, Shisui wouldn't have survived. I would have quit, rightfully so, on him long ago. But Sakura is determined, and she nearly killed herself in order to save him. You owe her a great debt of gratitude, and, if I'm not mistaken, this isn't the first time."

Itachi knew she was alluding to the instance where Sakura had fought through the night to save his own life, causing her to pass out in the process, a few years back. That particular attack had led to a several week stint in the hospital.

"You're saying he'll be alright?" Kagami asked; the hope and disbelief in his voice was palpable, as if he was afraid that he was hearing his Hokage wrong. Tsunade nodded her head in an affirmation. To everyone's shock, tears began to slide down Kagami's face slowly. They were silent tears of relief, but he wouldn't make a scene of them. Quickly, he slid his hand over his face. "When can I see my son?"

"The nurses who were able to survive Sakura's torture for eight hours are cleaning him up and transporting him to the ICU's holding wing. You will be able to visit him after ten a.m. tomorrow morning, but I don't we'll be waking him up for a few days," Tsunade replied evenly, but Itachi could see that there was a certain glow in her honey colored eyes from the thrill of a strenuous, impossible surgery. However, Fugaku didn't seem to be as impressed.

"What did you mean when you said you would have quit on my nephew?" he asked gruffly. His deep, baritone voice was gruff from lack of use over the past eight hours, but the high amount of disapproval was impossible to miss. Tsunade wasn't fazed. Waving her hand dismissively, she stunned everyone with her next sentence.

"I couldn't have saved your nephew if I wanted to. I'm not that good."

"Are you saying that the little girl that was carried out of here by my son has surpassed you?" Fugaku asked disbelievingly. Once again, Tsunade didn't seem intimidated by his rough tone, and, once again, her answer left the Uchihas in a stunned silence.

"It was bound to happen eventually."

The quiet silence that ensued was both tense and uncomfortable, forcing Mikoto to intervene before her husband began to argue with the Hokage over how an eighteen year old girl surpassed one of the legendary sannin.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama, for your time and energy that went into helping our nephew," she said earnestly, her entire body posture exuding a silent gratitude that radiated from her emotionally and physically exhausted form. "I'm sure you did everything you could to keep him alive, and for that, the Uchihas are eternally grateful to you."

She stood and bowed lightly in reverence for their leader, prompting Fugaku to do the same or else seem rude and impolite – not that he wasn't be slightly discourteous and arrogant before. Kagami followed suit, his thanks so painfully genuine that it discomfited the normally brash woman who ran the village. Itachi finally stood and bowed politely before excusing himself from the room.

Instead of heading home, where his parents and uncle were surely going to retire, he took a right out of the small operating ward and walked casually down the hall to the office of his most precious girlfriend. Sasuke opened the door quietly when Itachi approached, having sensed his brother's arrival. The deep black bags under his eyes were more pronounced now, the stress lines that were usually only his aniki's face now beginning to mar his own, much to his silent dismay.

"I'll let you look after her," Sasuke muttered gruffly while letting his older brother slide into the room gracefully. Sakura's petite, exhausted form was crumpled in a small heap on the love-seat couch that was pushed against the wall in her office. "Here," Sasuke continued, thrusting a small bucket into his brother's awaiting hands, finishing his brief, blunt explanation, "She'll need this when she wakes up."

Itachi took the small plastic trash bin and walked further into the small office, allowing his brother to leave quickly and quietly behind him. Sasuke was no longer obligated to stay here, and now that Itachi had returned from a mission, he now had a short vacation that he would use to look after both Shisui and Sakura, if she would allow him to do so.

The woman, who he was so infallibly, utterly infatuated with, spent all of her time taking care of others. Her natural proclivity to take care of others before she would even consider herself was perhaps, besides her exotic beauty and fiery, feisty personality, one of his favorite parts of her being. It was, when he was in the hospital for weeks on end, what attracted him originally. Bright, cheerful verdant eyes would be so helplessly maternal and expressive that he couldn't help but be enamored with the woman who was currently under his care.

Pulling her chair around her desk and sliding into effortlessly beside her, he took a few moments to truly appreciate the woman before him, the woman who had, after months and years of denial for their feelings, had fallen into his life suddenly. He was, for lack of a better term, socially awkward, and he both knew and accepted this fact.

From the time he was a young child to now, Uchihas were taught to be stoic, impassive individuals, devoid of emotions in order to be the perfect shinobi. Therefore, his social skills were barely intact, but slowly, he was learning how to respond properly to his comrades, friends, family, and most importantly, the woman lying in a petite heap on the couch in front of him.

Without understanding why he was doing it, his hand reached out and stroked back the stray locks of bubblegum hair that had fallen into the face of the beautiful woman before him. The affectionate gesture was so foreign to him that he didn't recognize the bubble of warmth that had risen within him, bursting at the seams, when the rosette underneath his large, calloused, war-torn hand leaned into the unexpected heat, sighing in pleasure at his soft ministrations.

He could never, not once, understand how he had suddenly become so lucky, but now that he had the caring woman in his grasp, he was determined to hold onto her for as long as he could keep her. A small frown etched his impassive features, dragging the small stress marks further down his pale face and darkening his already midnight orbs, as he realized that he would never and could never deserve the fragile, lovely creature that he had somehow managed to sneak his tainted claws into.

She was purity, innocence, and springtime all rolled into one pink-haired, bright, cheerful, sometimes insanely strong and volatile human being. By contrast, he was a deep-seated darkness that slunk in the shadows, a murderer, an assassin, a tool to his clan. He was the emotionless child prodigy who worked for his village, his people. Once again, he marveled at the fact that the gods had given him this piece of brightness. He wasn't going to question it, though, and he wasn't going to let his light ray of sunshine out of his life. She was the hope in his, up to this point, pitifully lonely and empty existence.

A large, calloused hand ran over his face in exasperation and slight despair. His self-loathing was at an all-time high right now, he mused, because of the predicament Shisui was in. Usually, his rather infallible self-esteem would not bottom out to thinking such pathetic thoughts, but all he wanted right now was to be punished for putting his most precious best friend in harm's way, even if he was a ninja and that was both his duty and his job.

What was Itachi thinking?

Shisui had been on a mission. Ninja died on missions all the time, every day, somewhere. People from his own village died on a semi-regular occasion, and death was, unfortunately, part of life. But there was something so horribly different about being a shinobi when it was your own friends and family being slaughtered.

Once again, before he could understand the demonstrative action, he ran a finger across the pale face of his girlfriend, the only light in his life at the moment. His rough finger ran slowly from the top of her brow, down the expanse of her cheek, leaving goose bumps rippling in their wake, and ended by rubbing her soft, cupid's bow lips with the pad of his thumb. Sakura sighed a bit once again, happily leaning towards the light touch of the man looming above her. Itachi felt the same flutter of warmth swell within him. He could get used to this, he decided.

And that's how he sat for the remainder of the night, carefully touching the beautiful woman that he called his, easing her into slumber as she recovered from saving the life of his best friend.

X

Reasons why she hated waking up after passing out from chakra exhaustion:

Headache. Migraine was more like it, she thought, as her mind slowly returned from the world of perfect, wonderful, blissful sleep to dive back into a painful consciousness. The last vestige of sleep left her and was replaced by a blinding, pulsating pounding that began right behind her eyes and moved back on the top of her scalp, throbbing and ending in the base of her neck. She tried, in vain, to crack her eyes open, but the blinding sunlight that was streaming into wherever she was, was enough to cause her to quickly clench her eyes shut once again.

Exhaustion. Time to go back to bed, she figured, shifting lightly to bury herself further into the warmth that encompassed her. However, before she could fall asleep, the third and final component to chakra exhaustion overcame her…

Her entire body lurched up, heaving in a wave of nausea to empty whatever contents she had in her stomach. A trash bin was thrust quickly into her arms, and to her eternal gratitude, lithe hands wrapped carefully into her pink locks, pulling them back from her face as she heaved yesterday's lunch and snacks into the plastic bin in front of her.

Nausea.

She hated chakra exhaustion.

Once she was sure that she wasn't in immediate danger of another bout of nausea, Sakura put the waste receptacle down next to the couch and swung her legs off the side. Belatedly realizing that she was in her office, she looked up to find whoever was in the small office with her and the savior of her hair. First, though, a water bottle was placed gracefully into her hands along with a little white pill.

"This helps combat some of the side effects of chakra exhaustion," a stoically quiet voice said from somewhere behind the water bottle. Sakura chugged the bottle, rehydrating herself, and took the small white pill appreciatively. After taking another moment to compose herself, Sakura looked up at the man who had probably been sitting with her all night, a small smile gracing her tired features.

"Shisui?" she asked first, before she could think of anything else. It was most likely that Sakura would be sent home for the day after the hard surgery the night before, so she wanted to make sure her patient was alright.

"He's fine," Itachi commented quietly. Sakura realized that the deep lines that ran down his cheeks were deeper, the bags under his eyes a little more pronounced, and he was still dressed in his ANBU uniform from his mission. Immediately, she wanted to fret over his sleep-deprived, exhausted condition, but her rant was quickly quelled by the strong arms that circled her arms, pulling her off the couch and into his warm, engulfing embrace.

"Thank you," he whispered quietly into her mop of ruffled pink hair. "He's only alive because of your hard work, determination, and abilities. Thank you."

Sakura circled her arms around her boyfriend, hugging his waist tightly in quiet reassurance. This was why she had to work so hard last night – for him. Shisui was one of her precious people, yes, but it was because of the man currently encompassing her in his arms as to why she fought so long and so hard.

She could not let him down. She could not take away his cousin and best friend, and she would be damned if that exuberant Uchiha died on her watch. What would she do without the happy, peppered kisses to her cheeks, the loud, boisterous appreciation for her cooking, the young man calling her Cupcake? If she would have been so profoundly affected by the death the young man she had worked so tirelessly to save last night, then how would his best friend, cousin and teammate feel?

No, she had to protect him from that, but as her entire being began to slump a bit, she realized a nap was in order first. Itachi chuckled lightly in her hair, patting the top of her head affectionately with one hand while rubbing small circles into her shoulder with the other.

"You need more sleep," he commented quietly. Hot breath tickled her scalp as he breathed deeply into her hair, reveling in her warmth.

"_You_ should sleep more," Sakura commented to his chest balefully. The concern in her groggy voice was unmistakable, and Itachi got the feeling that he would not hear the end of her concerned mumblings until he was the one tucked into bed. A small idea popped into his head, and in a moment of uncharacteristic impulsivity, he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend once again. As he used his chakra to transport them both, Sakura let out an alarmed squeak, clearly not appreciating the sudden change of location when she hadn't been warned about it.

They were in her apartment then, standing in the middle of her small living room wrapped in each other's embrace.

"Go get cleaned up and we'll go to sleep," Itachi promised quietly. Sakura nodded into his chest, squeezing him one more time before slipping out of his warmth and trudging exhaustedly towards her small bathroom. Brushing her teeth and rinsing off in the shower quickly, she was in and out of the bathroom in a matter of minutes, excitement at the prospect of cuddling up to her usually undemonstrative boyfriend bubbling up within her for a few moments.

Sure, she and Itachi kissed, but up until the other day, they had been light and chaste. But other than that, the dance on her birthday, and the two nights that he held her while she slept, Itachi kept the physical contact to a minimum, so she had a right to revel in the attention for a little bit, right?

She knew that Itachi was relatively stoic by nature; Sasuke was the same way. The Uchiha clan was very stern with the children that were born into their family. They were expected to be cold and emotionless. It made her wonder, as she pulled on a fresh change of clothes – a flourescnet orange t-shirt (Gee, I wonder who I got this from, she thought mirthfully) and a pair of black shorts, how they ended up with Shisui of all people in their family – one of the most affectionate, boisterous people she knew. He really was a diamond among rocks. But the Uchiha family had a lot of diamonds, she mused affectionately, thinking of Sasuke and Itachi – two of her most important people.

They were just different shapes and colors. Shisui's diamond would be large, bright, and shimmering in any lighting. Sasuke's would be just as large, but not as blatantly flashy or gaudy, for that would be much too annoying as he would say. His shine would be more reserved, showing off to those people who got close enough to see. And Itachi? He would be smaller, but much more refined and elegant than his other two counterparts and just as shining. Sakura could not help but let out a small chuckle. She was comparing three of her closest friends to diamonds. Sasuke would have a conniption fit if he found out.

Sakura glanced at herself in the mirror, deemed herself presentable, with her wet pink locks and gaunt figure from not having eaten and then throwing up whatever she had in her stomach. She rolled her eyes a little. Sometimes she had to admit it when others were right, and she hadn't been taking care of herself the past day or so, clearly.

Slipping out of her small bathroom, she found Itachi in the kitchen making tea. His tall form swallowed her small kitchen as he moved about gracefully, like he had every right to be there. Having taken off his ANBU uniform in exchange for a black, high collared shirt and a pair of black ninja pants, he looked much more relaxed than he had minutes before. A sidelong glance her direction was the only indication she got from him, telling her that he knew she was there. She glided into the kitchen behind him, her exhaustion beginning to overtake her once again as she thought about the prospect of her large, comfy bed sitting all alone in the other room.

Itachi handed her a finished cup of tea, just the right amount of honey and sugar, and she smiled up at the man in front of her. Really, he would probably much rather be by Shisui's side right now, but instead, because he was Itachi, and he was so caring and worried, he was here, making sure she got enough rest.

"This will help to rehydrate you and regenerate your chakra stores," he said quietly, sipping his own cup as he did so. Sakura giggled a bit as she affectionately wiped some tea that had dribbled onto his chin.

"I know," she replied fondly, smiling up at the man who was giving her the oddest of looks, "I did buy the tea, you know."

There was a pregnant pause to the conversation as Sakura's hand dropped from his face when she went back to drinking her own tea. Standing in the kitchen was beginning to make her tired, so she moved slowly into the living room and sliding into the couch as gracefully as she could with an almost full cup of tea in her hands. Itachi moved silently behind her, walking with practiced, even footsteps that were barely audible in her small apartment.

"Do you do this often?" Itachi finally asked once he had settled himself. Perhaps she was just too tired, but she didn't understand exactly what he meant. Sakura quirked a brow at her boyfriend, who gave the smallest sigh, seemingly in exasperation. "You have chakra enhancing tea to combat exhaustion. Do you run yourself into the ground like this on a regular basis?"

Sakura gave him a wary smile in response.

"Sometimes," she admitted. "Not as much as I used to."

Itachi's lips pursed into a thin line as his obsidian eyes darkened as he looked down at her from his perch next to her, his face filled with disapproval and reproach; it was a look she was all too used to getting from Uchiha men, so it hardly phased her when his eyes glinted with the critical emotions.

"You will take better care of yourself from now on," he finally commanded. For a moment, Sakura bristled at the _order_ he had just given her, but she quickly quelled the feeling, seeing as it was most likely a result of her fatigued state. To be honest, he was being much kinder than Sasuke who called her a whole slew of rude names when this happened. When really, Sakura knew, it was their way of caring for her physical being when she was being to obstinate or foolish do the same. It was, in short, one of the ways that the Uchihas showed that they cared. So instead of yelling at him for ordering her around like some genin, as she was wont to do with Naruto and Sasuke, she just gave him a pacifistic smile.

"Alright," she conceded. Drinking the last of her tea, she put the cup down on the coffee table in front of her couch. Itachi was giving her a disbelieving look, one that said: You've never been this easy, what are you up to? But she ignored it and stood up anyway. "Ready for bed?"

He nodded his head. Long black locks fell over his right shoulder at the slight incline, and Sakura felt the overwhelming desire to run her hands through the silky raven tresses, but she refrained. Itachi had been overly affectionate today, but she shouldn't get used to the outward displays of affection. It had been both an emotionally grueling and sentimental day, and that was the reason for his sudden change of personality.

"Sleep sounds nice, ne?" she asked sluggishly as she drudged down the hallway. She heard an amused huff from behind her, and it was nice, she figured to herself, to know exactly what look was on his face without having to turn around. Lips tugging ever so slightly at the ends, dark midnight black orbs that spoke of much more pain than his twenty-three years should have aloud, but there would be a little bit of amusement playing in those obsidian depths at her childish comment. Yes, she thought with a smile, knowing these things were nice.

"Indeed," he finally commented quietly. "Sleep sounds nice."

X

"Sakura will be the leader of this mission," Tsunade stated calmly, easily, as she laced her fingers in front of her face. Team Seven, sans Kakashi who was out on other duties, stood in her office. It had been over twenty four hours since ANBU Squad 4, or what remained of it, was brought to the hospital. Sakura had more than enough time to recover from her chakra exhaustion, and this mission shouldn't be terribly difficult for the likes of Team Seven. "Inuzuka Hana says that they were attacked fifty miles outside of Konoha to the west. You will go investigate and gather as much information about the attack as you can gather. Then you will report your findings and input back to me. If you see an enemy ninja, you will not engage if you can help it. You will do what you can to retreat or get an alert back to me. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," the four members of the infamous Team Seven chorused; although, Naruto's response did sound like a grumble. Of course the brat would complain about not being able to engage the enemy. Sakura, Sai, Sasuke, and Naruto all left the room and separated to prepare for the short mission that they would embark on in a matter of hours. Naruto wanted one last serving of ramen, so Sasuke went with him while Sai smiled and went to pack his belongings.

It was the first time Sakura had been the captain of a mission. If it wasn't Kakashi or Yamato-taichou, then it was Sasuke, so she her nerves were automatically beginning to work up at the pressure. This would be her chance to prove herself. If she could do this, then she was much more likely to do well in the ANBU exams. Leading a group of disrespectful boys would be a challenge, but she knew how to work with her team in order to function the best. Off the field, her group of boys were the most annoying brats in the world, but during a match, there was no one she would rather have her back. They were a seamless unit – united in working together.

They could do this together. But…

Could she do it?

Was she qualified to lead? Sure, she had been in charge of medics before, but that was when they were all under her. Her skills and place as Tsunade's apprentice ensured that she was at the top of the totum pole when it came to leading surgeries and the hospital. But this was a mission, and Naruto and Sasuke already had trouble listening to direction, even from Kakashi or Tsunade. Would they even listen to her?

The mission was relatively simple. Most likely, they wouldn't find much of anything and then return home with a mission report and an educated guess as to what happened during the battle. Once Shisui woke up, they would be able to glean more from the horrible fight.

Sakura was already prepared for the mission, and since Itachi had left early this morning for clan meetings, stating grouchily – in his own, stoic, unflappable way, of course – that he would be in them all day, she made her way to the hospital to say goodbye to her favorite patient. The trip to the hospital was short from the Hokage tower, and she also wanted some weapons from the SWPD downstairs. Making her way there first, she found that the small lab where she and her two best friends worked was oddly empty; then again, everyone was out on missions these days. Sakura smiled to herself and procured her items.

A few extra herbs for healing, some extra weapons, and a few soothing bandages might all come in handy, she thought to herself as she grabbed the items she wanted. There was something nice about being in the lab by herself that she really enjoyed. Of course, she loved it when her friends were here and they could chat, gossip, and work all they wanted, but there was always a soothing quality to being by herself that she enjoyed. It was what made her so good at what she did. She was focused and meticulous when she needed to be, even when Ino was loudly boasting about the boy she went on a date with the night before.

Sakura could practically feel her eyes roll when she thought of Ino, but her smile was fond as she tucked the last of her items into her satchel. If she wasn't ready now, she would never be, she thought as she made her way to the last stop of the day.

Climbing her way up the several flights of steps, Sakura made her way to Shisui's room quietly. To her surprise, the door was already open. In the chair next to Shisui's bed, a man sat holding the younger ninja's hand. His head was bowed and the middle aged man was talking to Shisui quietly. Sakura went to leave, obviously aware that she had intruded on a personal moment, when she was stopped by the man.

"You're Haruno Sakura," he stated easily, having noticed her presence when she'd tried to sneak out of the room. Sakura turned back and smiled at him, bowing politely.

"I am," she replied straightforwardly, taking a few steps into the darkened room. Although she had never met this man personally, it was rather obvious who he was. There was no mistaking the broad nose, long eyelashes, or boyish quality to the face. "You must be Shisui's father."

"Uchiha Kagami," the man introduced, standing up and bowing deeply. "I am forever in your debt. You are the one who saved my precious only child."

If Uchihas could cry, because Sakura thought it physically impossible for them to do so, this man would be doing it. Her cheeks tinged pink at the compliment while she waved her hands passively.

"Shisui is important to me, sir," she finally managed to speak, completely embarrassed. This was the most emotion she had even been shown by an Uchiha – well, except for Shisui. "He's one of my good friends. I would do anything to protect those that I love."

The man was looking at her rather oddly now, but his hand never left his son's. As if sizing her up, contemplating something, he finally smiled at her when he had found whatever it was he had been looking for in her. If it were possible, he looked even more like Shisui when he smiled, the same boyish gait sprawling on his round face. Sakura half expected him to call her Cupcake, and the fact that he wouldn't almost made her sad. It was time for Shisui to get better, she thought bitterly to herself. She was beginning to miss the big, boisterous oaf.

"You are an angel, Sakura-chan," Kagami finally stated almost seriously, snapping Sakura abruptly from her musings. "I'm sure of it. You are an angel. My son and nephews are so lucky to have you in their lives."

Sakura blushed most becomingly once again. How does one respond to such a compliment?

"You give me too much credit, Kagami-san, but thank you. I'm so much happier knowing that Shisui is alright," she responded bashfully. Sinking into a bow, she began backing out of the room. "I have a mission now. It was a pleasure to meet you, and I will be back to check on Shisui in a few days."

He smiled at her and waved goodbye happily.

Sasuke, Naruto, and Sai were all waiting for her by the village gates when she returned from the hospital. After a few minutes of bickering, the quartet finally left the village at a sedate pace. There was no rush for this mission since it was a simple informational mission. Sakura mused that she could possibly pick some herbs on the way that would be useful in medicines. The group of incredibly powerful ninjas walked slowly into the woods – into a place that was like a second home to them.

However, as they finally reached outside the twenty-mile marker of Konoha where the patrols no longer were on rotational duty, they failed to notice the dark presence lurking behind them. They failed to notice that someone was watching them as they argued, ate, and slept. They didn't notice that someone was after them.

No, after _her_.

"Alright, princess," the man said with a low growl, throwing his sword over his shoulder. The Samehada purred eagerly, waiting for a fight. He was still a fair distance away from the group of Leaf shinobi, but he bared his teeth into a small smile, his black eyes twinkling with the prospect of a good fight. The ring wasn't in Suna, and therefore, there was only one other person who could have it. He needed the Akatsuki off his back if he ever wanted to get away from them, and this was the only way to do it. Reaffirming his resolve, he began to stalk towards his unsuspecting prey.

"It's time you gave Sasori's ring back."

* * *

AN: There you have it. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I don't think I would ever have the heart to kill of Shisui. Also, if Itachi seemed a little 'emo' in this chapter, it's just because he's subconsciously blaming himself for Shisui. I hope I didn't have him come off too self-depricating.

In that case, that's everything!

You're reviews make the words come to the page. Please, tell me your thoughts/questions/comments/or concerns. They make my life a little brighter.


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